Monday 30 April 2012

Basant Day in Pakistan


 
Basant or Vasant is a famous festival in the Indian sub-continent. This is also called kite festival. In the early time it wasn’t considered or celebrated as festival but now it has become a big festivity in India and Pakistan. Basant means a festival at which kites are flew and people enjoy. It is the time of the people for their recreation and entertainment. The Basant festival is celebrated at the end of the winter season and at the start of the beautiful spring season. It says good bye to winter and welcomes the spring in which flowers are blossom and birds sing sweet songs. Basant is marked as the first festival of the year so everyone tries to make it memorable and joyful. It is celebrated allover Pakistan with great enthusiasm. People from all of every age enjoy the festival without gender discrimination. Especially boys, girls and children show more enthusiasm. At this day people get up early in the morning and offer their holly rituals. After their sacred obligations, the festivity begins. Boys, girls, men, women and children wear yellow, green or red or combination of these colors. People buy the kites and strings in big quantity. The people are get-together and sing the sweet songs of spring. The festivities of Basant festival are celebrated in Pakistan in their full swing.  Lahore is the centre point for the entertaining activities of Basant. Initially the festival was celebrated in the outer sides of the city then it got more attention and became one of the most important festivals in the city. Other than the city of Lahore there are some other cities like Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Jhelum, Kasur and Rawalpindi/Islamabad where Basant is celebrated with great attraction. . It makes people happy and brings them out from their daily hectic routine. The biggest festival of all it was the centre of attention for people of all ages, young and old. Basant alone was grandeur than any other festival celebrated in the country.

Dresses for mehndi in Pakistan

In the function of Mehndi in Pakistan Usually girls wear the yellow colour dresses. Bride as well as others girls wear yellow or green colour dresses. The dress may be shalwar kameez, long shirt and chooridar, kurti or can be lehnga. Girls enjoy alot in this function and put mehndi on their hands. It is said that as much as the dark color of mehndi on the hand of girl, more she will be loved by her husband. There are many beautiful designs of mehndi for hands and feet.


Friday 27 April 2012

Products in Ajrak Design

Ajrak is taken from the word Azrak which means blue as it is in the dye printing of Ajrak. Ajrak do not only show the culture of pakistan but it is the symbol of respect and hospitality. Therefore it is more than the fabric for the people of pakistan. There are many products that are made in the print of Ajrak such as: Dresses, Cups, Handbags, Bedsheets and many others. when people from outside come to Pakistan (Sindh) for visit then they will be honored with Ajrak and Topi. The idiom “from cradle to grave” is used when we talk about the Sindhi Culture. It would perfectly fit because of  usage of Ajrak which starts from the birth of child when Ajrak is used as a hammock.  It is a important part of Sindhi culture and an integral part of Sindhi apparel.


Thursday 26 April 2012

Dresses made of Ajrak

People in Pakistan like to wear ajrak as it shows their culture, so they also like to wear dresses in the print same as ajrak.Dresses of different styles can be made from the ajrak like printed clothe. It can be Shalwar Kameez that is usually wear by women in pakistan or it can be frok or short kurti.
Ajrak is worn by women as a shawl or scarf. Embroidery can also be done on this printed clothes to make it more beautiful. This type of dresses are also liked by the people out of pakistan and mostly they import Ajrak, Rilli and many other traditional products from pakistan.



Hand Made Jewellery


Designs of traditional Jewellery in Pakistan

Pakistani traditional jewellery is a mix of tradition, latest designs and techniques. Pakistani women have a great passion for jewelry and they wear it with a great interest. Same designs can be made in gold, silver as well as artificially.The Pakistani traditional jewellery is a perfect combination of ancient Mughal and latest modern jewellery. Pakistan was described as a “treasure trove” having its rivers full of stones. The wealth in natural resources coupled with the love of ornamentation resulted in the richness of jewellery worn by men and women from the ancient times. The Mughal emperors showed particular interest in increasing the collection of fine jewellery.


Tuesday 24 April 2012

Traditional gifts of Pakistan (Jewellery box)

This is the wooden jewellery box, use for keeping the jewelery safe. if jewellry is not kept safe then it will be turn to black or after sometime it become shinning less and seems to be old. Jewellery box is safe place to keep your jewellrey new and having shininess.
Below are the handmade jwellery box that are made in pakistan. Handmade jewellery box are long lasting and give cultural look. 



Sindhi Embroidery Gaj

Beautiful Sindhi Gaj (dress/tunic) front segment from Pakistan. The piece is of fantastic shape. The piece was intended to start a dress or tunic, this is the main piece of embroidery which then other fabrics and arms/back would be added to. Wonderful collectible tribal textile that can also be used as a costume element or wall decor. These are available in every market. These are separate from dresses, after purchasing you can embedded them in any shape on your dress.


collection of hand made dresses in pakistan

 These are hand made dresses made by women by pakistan. These are different designs made by them on clothes. some designs are made by pieces of clothes and some by doing embroidery by using different type of material.




Sunday 22 April 2012

Khusa shoes

Traditional footwear of pakistan is khussa. Khussa is the hand made shoes made in pakistan. Khussa are worn for casual use as well as khussa is worn by people in functions and parties. In pakistan it is worn by the groom in his marriage.Khussa shoes are made with leather and are hand stitched. Khussa are made in different type of designs and styles. Khussa shoes are famous and liked by people for their finest and beautiful embroidery works. 
This embroidery is done by the artisans of pakistan with the hands. they do not use any kind of machine for embroidery and stitching.
Embroidery is done with beads, sequins, thread, dabka, tilla and other such materials. These embroidery works gives khussa a perfect look and match with any type of dress. Khussa are comfortable and are easy to wear.




Designs of wall hangings



These are the wall hangings made in pakistan. most of the people in pakistan and also out of the pakistan purchase the wall hangings to decorate their walls. This add to the beauty of home. There are many types of wall hangings. some are made on clothes and some are on woods and also the different made is use in different designs. The handcrafted embroidery traditional folk wall hanging made by the women artisans in the Pakistan. wall hanging can also be made with the brown thick sticks, these sticks are joint together and then the embroidery will be done to make a design on that through mirror, thread or any other material.

Traditional Products of Pakistan (Rilli / Khais)




Saturday 21 April 2012

History of Rilli (Quilt)




Asia has been known throughout the world for its beautiful textiles.The art of producing cotton fabric, processes of dying and printing fabric was first started by ancient South Asian.
Women make beautiful designs of rilli with different types of colors and clothes. Rillis are mostly made in Sothern provinces of pakistan including sindh. Quilt making is an old tradition in the region perhaps dating back to the fourth millennium BC judging by similar patterns found on ancient pottery. Rillis are used as bed sheets, covering for wooden bags, paddinf for workers and animals, storage bags, floor cover and in villages , ralli are an important part of girls dowry and owning many quilts is a measure of wealth.
The number of patterns used on ralli quilts seems to be almost endless, as there is much individual expression and spontaneity in color within the traditional patterns. The three basic styles of rallis are: 1) patchwork made from pieces of cloth torn into squares and triangles and then stitched together, 2) applique made from intricate cut out patterns in a variety of shapes and 3) embroidered quilts where the embroidery stitches form patterns on solid colored fabric. A distinguishing feature of ralli patterning in patchwork and applique quilts is the diagonal placement of similar blocks as well as a variety of embellishments including mirrors, tassels, shells and embroidery.

Rilli Pattern


The word "Rilli" derived from the local word Ralanna, which means to "mix or connect". Rilli is made from different clothes. The clothes are first cut into different shapes (as per design) and then these pieces of clothes are connected together by thread. Ralli have a layers of worn or cotton fabric in between the bottom and top layers. These layers are held together by a thick thread. Women do not use any frame or machine for stitching the rilli.           
                   

Pots

These pots are made by people in Pakistan specially in rural areas. these pots are handmade and made up of clay. These pots includes money boxes, pots for cooking food and many others. These peoples also made different types of toys from the clay.