SPRING in Chitral usually begins with the celebration of Phatak, a two-day festival which has been celebrated for many centuries. The word in the Khowar language means flour.

Festivities start with the eldest member of every family offering prayers and sprinkling flour around the pillars in the corners of their home indicating spring has arrived. The younger members mould birch trees branches or wire wrapped in clothes into various shapes mostly flowers. These are then coated with flour and hung from the ceiling as decoration.

According to folklore, a sufi mystic spent 40 days in a cave seeking enlightenment. When he left the cave he announced the arrival of spring after an exceptionally harsh and long winter.

The event is interpreted as overcoming one’s ignorance through the light of knowledge and annihilation of the ‘self’. The shrine of the sufi who had the vision, Pir Nasir Khisrow, is located in the heart of the Garam Chashma valley. People throng the site on the occasion to pay their respects and later visit the homes of relatives and friends to exchange greetings and felicitations.

Ths unique flavour and distinctive rich culture of Chitral is on display in all its finery during the two-day festival. Like the Shindur and Kalasha festivals, this unique cultural event is well worth a visit by domestic and foreign tourists. This will help not only the region’s economy but help promote Pakistan’s soft image in the world.

Muhammad Nabi and Asif Ali Hayat
Garam Chashma, Chitral

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2019