Lok Virsa Displays Living Heritage Of Balochistan By Mahtab Bashir

The diorama is mainly a typical traditional low-roofed tent known as "Gidan" used by nomadic tribes of Balochistan.

ISLAMABAD: Lok Virsa (National Institute of Folk & Traditional Heritage) has established a colourful 3-dimensional diorama of living heritage of "Balochistan" province at its Heritage Museum, Shakarparian.

The diorama depicts the living cultural traditions and lifestyle of the nomads of the province, said Lok Virsa Executive Director while talking to Daily Times on Friday.

The visitors can see statues of the storytellers locally called "Narr Bait" presenting folk stories with their traditional flute Narr sitting with a musician playing folk musical instrument "Saroz".

The diorama is mainly a typical traditional low-roofed tent known as "Gidan" used by nomadic tribes of Balochistan. Besides the tent, there is a display of mud plastered hut with its paraphernalia including bed, child's cot, crockery and kitchen utensils beautifully and professionally created by the designers presenting true picture of the rich culture of the province, the Lok Virsa chief added.

Balochistan, area-wise the biggest province of Pakistan, has smallest population of 6.5 million amongst the four provinces in the country. Balochistan is a huge mountainous plateau, where water is scarce, except for emerald green oasis settlements, where fruit farms and wheat fields merge beautifully in the backdrop of rugged mountainous ranges. When this happens the atmosphere for miles and miles is filled with aroma of apples, grapes, pomegranates, peaches, almonds and cherries.

Balochistan was the site of ancient farming settlements in South Asia, the earliest of which was Mehrgarh dated at 6500 BC. The coastal city of Gwadar has become an important deep-water port of the Arabian Sea. The long Makran coastline is also home to the province's burgeoning date industry and camel breeding.

Javaid said ballads and folk songs are the common forms of classical Balochi literature, which has reached us through the ages via successive generations of bards who preserved them intact. A Balochi war ballad best describes the landscape, "The mountains are the Balochis forts; the peaks are better than any army; the lofty heights are our comrades' the pathless gorges our friends. Our drink is from the following springs; our bed the thorny bush; the ground we make our pillow".