ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage (Lok Virsa) in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan is holding a week-long special programme on ‘Kashmiri Folk Crafts: Engagement with Artisans’ from February 1 in connection with the Kashmir Solidarity Day.
Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan Muhammad Barjees Tahir is likely to be chief guest at the opening ceremony to be held at Heritage Museum, Garden Avenue, Shakarparian on Wednesday.
A number of folk musical and dance performances based on popular Kashmiri folk and patriotic songs would be held at the opening ceremony, a Lok Virsa official said in Islamabad on Saturday.
He said the purpose of the programme was to highlight sacrifices of the Kashmiri people struggling for their right of self-determination in the Indian occupied Kashmir through purely a cultural perspective.
It is a part of Lok Virsa’s ongoing popular programme series “Craft of the Month” with the objective to promote traditional skills and inculcate knowledge about various crafts among the younger generation, he said.
The official said master artisans in various indigenous Kashmiri folk crafts such as papier mache, namda, gabba, weaving, jewellery, embroidery, etc. will demonstrate their skills at Lok Virsa Heritage Museum for a week and teach children about their respective craft areas in an interactive and meaningful manner.
He said registration of children (age: 6-14 years) was in process. Interested parents, he added, could enroll their children for training programme in Kashmiri folk crafts by contacting Lok Virsa Museum Section on phone # 9249200 or 0300-5204755, email: ddmuseumlokvirsa@gmail.com.
