ISLAMABAD - National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage, Lok Virsa on Friday organised a Hindko music concert for the promotion of Hazara division culture.

National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage, Lok Virsa organised a Lok Baithak on Folklore of Hindko here at Lok Virsa Media Centre with the aim to promote the art and culture of Hazara division Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Renowned Hindko folk singer Shakeel Awan presented his popular melodies for fun lovers of the federal capital and enthralled the audience by singing local and traditional music of Hazara being practiced in that region.

Shakeel Awan is a Hindko singer from Hazara division and also known as a folk singer of Hazara. He sings in different languages including Hindko, Pharhi Potohari, Panjabi, and Urdu.

National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage, Lok Virsa has recently launched a new fortnightly series of folklore and folk music called “Lok Baithak” to revive the informal sittings of the traditional and rural communities.

The main purpose behind “Lok Baithak” is to revive the informal sittings of the traditional and rural communities.

These Lok Baithaks were multifaceted and used to serve the multiple purposes of associationalism, camaraderie, entertainment, social cohesion, knowledge sharing, creation of disciplinarian and organizational spirit, and above all hub of promotion of art and culture in the general communities.

“Lok Baithak” at Lok Virsa is being run while being true to the mandate of Lok Virsa i.e. the promotion of folk and traditional heritage of Pakistan.

This programme is open to the people of all age groups and to all ethnicities, in the style that they themselves would be the speakers and listeners with Lok Virsa as regulator and facilitator only.  Talking to APP, the organizers of Lok Virsa said, “Our audience is encouraged and allowed to bring their musical instruments and crafts that they specialize in. 

They are mobilised to share the values, knowledge, wisdom, stories, songs, tales, fables, epics, jokes, traditional games, riddles etc and everything within the domain of folklore of their respective regions. Singers and musicians among them sing and play music.

Lok Virsa makes its contribution through inviting a folk/ semi classical / classical singer or through musical performance.

We would also invite traditional treasurers (gunny, sughars people and so on) who have a lot to share about the folk and traditional heritage of their respective regions”, the organizers added.

A large number of people from different walks of life attended the event, whereas, the prominent Hindko anchorperson, Kashif Malik hosted the event and Zafar Iqbal Khan, alias “Swati Mama” , a very popular Hindko “poet” was also present at the event.