ISLAMABAD: Scottish band Reely Jiggered is on a visit to Islamabad for Burns Night – the annual celebration of Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns, a British High Commission statement said yesterday.

They will play at the charity Ball at the British High Commission and visit an orphanage in Islamabad, where they will play traditional Scottish music, said the statement.

Reely Jiggered are an award winning Ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee) band inspired by Celtic Folk and world music. They have toured international music festivals around the world and this is their first visit to Pakistan. They are made up of Alison McNeill (fiddle and vocals), Fiona McNeill (guitar, bodhran and vocals) and Scott McLean (percussion).

Burns Night, which is celebrated around the world, involves Scottish dancing and eating Haggis, a traditional food.

The British High Commission’s Burns Supper fuses Scottish and Pakistani culture, and will include readings of Robert Burns poems in original Scottish and Urdu, the traditional Address to the Haggis and bagpipes played by a Pakistani band.

Richard Crowder, Acting High Commissioner, who will host the Burns Supper celebrations said: “We are very excited about the arrival of Reely Jiggered and are looking forward to celebrating both Pakistan and Scottish culture. Whether talking about the large Pakistani origin population in Scotland, the shared love of bagpipes or the great links set up by the British Council, there is a real connection between Scotland and Pakistan that we are immensely proud of.”