culture of Pakistan

CULTURES OF PAKISTAN

Travelling from the east and west of Pakistan ,  thing that inspired me the most is the culture of Pakistan . Pakistan is a land of diverse cultures . It's culture is enrich in traditions and represents history of this region . Pakistani people and society is unique in its way of life thoughts and morals . The inhabitants of each province have diverse cultural values which make them different from other groups and society . The nation has multiple ethnic groups and cultures Punjabi , Sindhi , Balochi ,  Kashmiri , Pashtun and more . They all have there specific style and culture , but , altogether it is known as the Pakistani culture . Lets go on a journey showing culture of Pakistan .

DRESSES 

Pakistani culture is rich in variety of dresses . These dresses are very bright , prominent , colorful and give a very attractive look at national fair and festivals . The dresses reflect the culture of the region . Dress in each regional culture reflects weather conditions , way of living and distinctive style which gives it a unique identity among all cultures.

  The national dress of Pakistan is shalwar qameez  and is worn by men and women in all provinces of the country. Every province has its own style of wearing shalwar qameeez , such as Punjabi shalwar qameez , Sindhi shalwar qameez , Balochi shalwar qameez and Pashtun shalwar qameez. Women wear shalwar qameez and carry a dupatta with them . On the other hand men wear shalwar qameez and in some cases also wear waistcoat with it. Head gears include Jinnah cap , Fez and Taqiyah . Peshawari chappal and Khussa are popular footwear .



        Baloch men wear long jamma down to heals , loose shalwar with a chaddar , a pagri of cotton cloth and shoes which are narrow at toe . Baloch women wear a long frock and shalwar with a head scarf , the dress is made beautiful with sheesha work.

             Sindhi men wear a version of  qameez called cholo and shalwar called suthan accompanied by sindhi topi and ajrak . Men also wear dhoti and long angerkho. Sindhi women wear lehanga and choli known as the gaji . Sindhi clothing displays embroidery using mirrors .







Punjabi men wear the straight cut punjabi shalwar qameez  , kurta and shalwar , dhoti , lungi  or tehmat and kurta . Pagri is also worn in rural areas of punjab . Footwear include khussa . Punjabi women wear straight cut punjabi shalwar qameez . Women in villages also wear lehenga , phulkari , ghaghra and kurti. They also add paranda to hair.







The traditional Pakhtun male dress includes the khet partug , peshawari shalwar and Perahan wa tunban .  They wear peshawari cap , turban or kufi as headwear and Peshawari chappal as footwear. Pashtun women commonly wear shalwar qameez but in some tribal areas they wear firaq partug.

Wedding dresses are shirwani and qulla for men and embroided lehengas , sarees and gharara with heavy jewelery for women . The dresses are often bright in color like red , maroon for brides and subtle colors for men.

CUISINE

Culinary art in Pakistan is mainly a mix of indo-pak subcontinental cuisines with Middle Eastern , Central Asian and Afghan influence.There are variations of cooking practices across country , mostly from spicy in Punjab and Sindh to steamed and boiled in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan . Different specialties exist throughout the country mostly different type of rice like Biryani , Pulao and boiled rice ( mostly eaten with lentils or vegetables )  . Meat is eaten in different forms like Korma , Karahi , local forms of grilled meat or kebab include seekh kebab shami kebab , chapli kebab , gola kebab and many more. The sweet dishes include Kheer , halwa, mithai , falooda , jalebi ,ras malai . 
Consumption of TEA is very popular in Pakistan . It is one of the most consumed beverages in Pakistani cuisines . Tea is usually consumed at breakfast , during lunch breaks at workplace and in the evening at home . Guests are typically offered a choice between tea and sodas . Different varieties of  tea is served in Pakistan like black tea , masala chai , doodh pati , kahwa and kashmiri chai . Chai is love for Pakistanis .

FESTIVALS

Pakistani people celebrate a number of festivals.

Ramadan , a month from the Islamic calendar , is a month of fasting from dawn to sunset . Muslims during this month fast , offer a special prayer known as nmaaz traveeh every day with nmaaz isha . Special foods are cooked and this month goes on with great enthusiasm.  

  

Eid ul fitr commemorates the passing of  Ramadan . On eid days there are national holidays at least of three days . The day starts with eid prayers , having grand breakfast with family and visiting your beloved all day long . On this day money is given to charity and as agift to children . women celebrate it by applying henna and cooking dishes.

Eid ul adha commemorates the willingness of Hazrat Ibrahim (A.S) to sacrifice his son Hazrat Ismael (A.S) for Allah . This day is celebrates in a same way as Eid ul fitr but the difference is that an animal like goat sheep or camel is sacrificed on this day . On this day people distribute meat to relatives and donate food to poor. 

Millad un Nabi is a known religious festival which is celebrated in all over Pakistan . It is the celebration of the birthday of the last Islamic prophet Hazrat Muhammad (S.A.W.W) . 

On 14th of August , the people of Pakistan celebrate INDEPENDENCE DAY . This is celebrated with great enthusiasm all around the country . People express their love for the country by wearing green and white dresses , by painting the country's flag on the face and by arranging different events.


DEFENCE DAY , is  celebrated every year on 6th of September in the commemoration  of the amazing success of Pakistan Military against a war with India . This event is also celebrated with great enthusiasm and love for both , the country and the military forces . Events are arranged in GHQ , military parades are done , and the exhibition of weapons as well.

LITERATURE

Pakistani literature originates from when Pakistan gained its independence in 1947 . The common tradition of Urdu and English literature of the Indo-Pak Subcontinent was adopted by the new state .

   URDU LITERATURE is the literature in Urdu language .  It tends to be dominated by poetry especially the verse forms of the Ghazal and nazam . It has expanded into other styles of writing including that of short stories called as afsana . Urdu literature is most popular in Pakistan as it is the national language and is also popular in India . I'll surely write another detailed article on Urdu literature.

Many of the famous writers which promoted Urdu literature were Allama Iqbal , Abdul Hameed , Ahmad Faraz , Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi , Ata-ul-haq-Qasmi , Ashfaq Ahmad , Bano Qudsia , Faiz Ahmad Faiz , Fatima Suraiya Bajiya , Hajra Masrror , Ibn-e-Insha , Imtiaz Ali Taj , Khadeeja Mastoor , Naseem Hijazi , Patrs Bukhari , Qudrat Ullah Shahab , Sadat Hassan Manto , Umera Ahmed , Wasif Ali Wasif  , Nimra Ahmed and the list is never ending .

POETRY is highly respected art in Pakistan . The Urdu Language has a rich tradition of Poetry and includes the famous poets like Allama Iqbal (national poet ) , Mir Taqi Mir , Ghalib , Faiz , Ahmad Faraz , Habib Jalib , and Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi. Apart from Urdu poetry other regional languages like Balochi , Punjabi , Sindhi , Seraiki also influences our poetry.



This is not an end to the long list of the great Pakistani culture . But I am going to end this amazing journey here . 
Thanks for staying with me till the end . I hope you enjoyed this amazing journey . Stay tuned for more amazing journeys and freshly brewed content.