ISLAMABAD The last day of the four-day Punjab Lok Mela though pulled large crowd on Sunday but disappointed the visitors in terms of the variety of handicrafts, and representation of folk heritage and culture from different parts of the Punjab. Muhammad Hameed, a resident of Rawalpindi who visited the mela while talking to TheNation said, The Punjab enjoys diversity in folklore, special products, music and dances. Even the Banghra dance in Jhang is quite different from what is performed at Lahore and Multan. The Lok Virsa invited only one Bhangra group from Jhang and a folk singer Zafar Lohar and Krishn Bhel from Cholistan though we have many more and better singers whom the Lok Virsa has ignored quite surprisingly. Zaitoon Bibi who came all the way from Peshawar to see the Punjab Lok Mela was seen frustrated a lot. There are only a few stalls of the artisans and the rest about 50 stall are selling all the socks, rejected lot of T-shirts from Faisalabad, Chinese crockery, electronics, toys and other households which have made the Punjab Lok Mela to 'Junk mela, she said. Sana Tariq, a young lady based in Islamabad, said that she was amused to see the thrilling camel and horse dance at the entry point of the mela. But, she could not believe that the Punjab Mela is too thin in terms of artisans participation and the rest is 'trash collected from all the low-priced shops. Khalid Javaid, the Lok Virsa Executive Director, while talking to TheNation said that it was unfortunate that the Punjab department of culture showed complete lack of interest in the Punjab Mela. They were supposed to provide the funds to Lok Virsa or directly invite the artisans and folk artists from all over the Punjab, he said adding, but in spite of non-cooperation from the concerned departments in the Punjab government, we have fetched artists representing different parts of the Punjab from the meagre sponsorships available through different means including the commercial stalls. Shiekh Muhammad Mansoor took Blue Pottery from Multan also called Kashi work. He is one of those who have given new shapes and designs to the old traditional craft. The history of Multani arts and crafts goes back to medieval period including the Kashi work. The glazing and hand painting of ceramic products is an important art for which Multan is famous the world over. The use of foliage branches and leaves of trees and superb richness of colours, mainly blue, in Kashi work is an evidence of Persian influence. As Persian arts themselves have been under Chinese (Mongol) influence, therefore, some historians are of the view that Kashi work had originally come from Kashghar, China. Over a period of centuries Multani Kashi work has matured and developed a unique and distinctive style of its own. Artists like Ustad Allah Wasaya and others have left lasting work in the field and their work has lent immortality to the art. The exhibits Shiekh Muhammad Mansoor put on display link us to the old tradition with the contemporary touch. The prices were somehow towards the higher side. Kahror Pacca is a small town in district Lodhran, one of the two poorest districts of Pakistan as the UNDP has shown in its recent report. But, Kahror Pacca is rich in terms of crafts, mostly done by the women at their homes. Surrya Abdullah is one such woman who was trained in natural dying by the Lok Virsa. She was also present at the mela with all her best chunri work and other attractions for the women. Ikram ul Haq also belongs to Kahror Pacca. He also brought wonderful chunries in attractive colours and styles. The crafts is to dye fabric after tying parts of it so that the tied parts of the fabric shall not absorb dye, giving the fabric a streaked or mottled look. The dyeing method used by hand-loom weavers of ancient times. It became popular during the craft revival of the 1960s. The fabric to be coloured is tied or knotted at intervals before being placed in the dye; the knotted areas remain untouched by the dye and create random patterns frequently resulting in a sunburst effect. Tie-dyeing is currently popular for the decoration of wall hangings and casual apparel. Rawalpindi-based Habib ur Rehman has achieved high skills in truck art. His stall was centre of eye for the visitors with a range of products usually used on the roadside cafes known as 'driver hotel. Like billboards on the cinemas for the promotion of films, there is another indigenous form of art performed in Pakistan and it is the Truck Painting. With its all colorful floral patterns, depiction of human heroes with creative aspect ratios, calligraphy of poetic verses and drivers words of wisdom, this form of art is truly a part of Pakistani transport tradition. During the last two decades, this art form has become popular among the foreigners especially Europeans, and to meet the demand of the buyers, many artists have shown their skills to make different products based on the truck art motifs. Habib ur Rehman is the one who could excel in the art. Hamid Aziz from Kamilia brought khaddar and block printing on cotton fabrics. The traditional dolls made by Fozia Naheed, basketry by Ghulam Sakina from Jhang, and embroidery by Maluka Mai from Rahim Yar Khan were also worth mentioning crafts of the mela.