The makers of the Pakistani Handicrafts: Culture & attitudes of the people

Posted: April 9, 2011 in Pakistani People
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Bristish P.M. with Pakistani Students ( Credit: Times of Lahore)

Currently, Pakistan is facing the toughest economic and law & order situation since its birth in 1947, in wake of “so called” war on terror. Pakistan use to be and still inherently is a peaceful and a talented nation but unfortunately this country never got any sincere leadership that could guide and navigate her through domestic and international challenges. This nation can build satellites, high tech missiles, fighter jets, and nuclear bombs but can’t build any good roads, sewerage systems, hospitals, research universities and hospitals. The primary reason for that abnormality is the lack of sincerity, national pride, responsibility and accountability towards people.

A recent example of callousness make from the country-wide strike of doctors working in governmental hospitals who let patients die while bargaining for their salaries. Useless ostentatious mentality of the Pakistani people digs them into this situation. Non-productive spending is unusually higher in Pakistan than any other developing nation. This general habit of living beyond means put this nation under crisis. I would blame the lack of education and intolerance of this situation in Pakistan.

Pakistan is a diverse nation and there was a strong need for trust development, mutual respect and tolerance but I think the ill wisher of Pakistan really did a good job of baffling the Pakistani to never focus on these vital national building principles. As a result one can observe all kind of social problems over there. This situation induces a typical attitude in the majority of Pakistani to think for them first and for their nation never. Consequently, the difference between haves and haves-not are getting larger day by day and more and more people are getting frustration and hopeless from the future and even existence of Pakistan.

Question is, can we trace the effects of this situation on the handicrafts produced? Really weird to think this way, but I’m certain that this question has some degree of correlation and can be answered by using this matrix. Why Pakistani not feel proud to use their indigenously produced products? Why there are always two grades of every commodity available? Why good quality handicrafts are intended to be made for export only?

Pakistani architecture reflects the same values as its handicrafts: Beautiful but neglected!

Posted: April 7, 2011 in Uncategorized
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Badshai Mosque in Lahore ( Credit: Wikipedia)

The history & origin of architecture in Pakistan can be traced back to the beginning of the Indus Valley civilization era (around the 3rd millennium B.C.). Later, the discoveries of Ghandhara, Texila and Herpa style architectural monuments suggest that the architectural history of this land had gone through multiple phases. The height of architectural era in Pakistan is undoubtedly the era of Moguls who ruled the Indian Sub-continent for 300 years from 1533 A.D. to 1857 A.D. Buildings like Taj Mahel (built by Mogul emperor Shah Jehan) explains the ingenuity and attitude of the mogals towards architecture.

Modern Pakistani architecture is thus inspired by multiple civilizations, dynasties, religious upheavals and above all the British. The most dazzling feature of Pakistani architecture is the blend of various cultures. For example Mohata Palace in Karachi is a fine example of the British and Islamic architecture. Faisal Mosque in Islamabad is another fine example of modern and ancient architectural blends and the list goes on and on!

Mohatta Palace Karachi ( Credit Wikipedia)

Despite the uniqueness of Pakistani architecture, majority of buildings in Pakistan are not very energy efficient. Throughout the country, the building code is not strictly enforced and in the wake of any natural calamity like earthquakes, these buildings have to depend on their luck and severity of the quack. In Pakistan, building structures are usually erected with concrete and iron rods and walls are hard bricked in such a way it’s practically impossible to move them. During these modern times, perhaps the only advantage that kind of construction can offer is its resistibility towards fire but majority of the times fire gets the upper hand! Unfortunately, the fire fighting system in Pakistan is at least 100 years old and no real progress has been made to update it.

Despite all this, buildings are beautiful in Pakistan because most of the attention of devoted to adorn their appearance instead of making them living efficient!

Leather Industry of Pakistan: The only prosperous sector with a dark side

Posted: April 6, 2011 in Pakistani Leather Industry
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Leather is being produced in a local tannery in Sialkot Credit : gangeticdolphin.wordpress.com

Sialkot is the hub of Pakistani leather industry. Very few people are aware that FIFA used to import footballs for its soccer matches (including soccer cup finals) from Sialkot. These balls were the industry standard due their leather quality and superior craftsmanship. Besides sporting goods, jacket and gears made of fine grain leather, leather wallets and handbags, ash trays and various small and large decorative items are still being produced in Sialkot. The leather industry of Pakistan faces similar problems just like any other industry in the country but it posses another severe concern. That is the issue of non-proper disposal of poisonous waste from the leather tanneries.

The increase of tanneries in Pakistan is causing severe environmental degradation as the untreated effluent used in the tanning process is released into nearby water reservoirs and the sea. In addition, air pollution is on the rise with the tanneries burning residuals (i.e. hair) from the tanning process into the atmosphere.

The leather industry of Pakistan is continuously growing in contrast to other industries but with a huge price. The price is in the shape of extreme high risk to human health and infertility of lands where this poisonous waste is being dumped unfiltered. The official stats regarding human health will never accurately reflect the gravity of the situation. Some are attributing this situation no less than discharging radioactive material in the open air. A number of so called environmental protection agencies and NGOs are “trying to tackle” this issue but seems like that the leather mafia in Pakistan is way more powerful than them!

Federal Government of Pakistani help formulates two NGOs (AHAN and ADORN) to support its handicraft industry.

Posted: April 2, 2011 in Pakistani NGOs, Uncategorized
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Women preparing Hand wowen showl ( Credit ADORN)

The nature of the handicrafts is interwoven with the inherent culture of the people of Pakistan. The artisans of Pakistan are hard-working, dedicated to their passion and creative which have been passed down from one generation to the next. Unfortunately, these artisans have had to struggle to allow their crafts to survive in an industry going directionless due to the negligence of supervision and the authority. Besides that there is a long history of abusive techniques employed by the “middleman” who gives only meager return to the artisans for their hard work.

Recently, the central Government of Pakistan has recognized the potential of this sector and has encouraged a public-private partnership with the Ministry of Industries and Production knowing that if nothing has been done then the industry will die just like the film industry. Provincial and local governments are usually responsible for the development and preservation of art and culture. Unfortunately the efficiency and interest of Pakistani local government towards Arts and Culture is quite evident from the fate of film industry. It is surprising that Pakistan does not produce any motion pictures anymore. Whereas the neighboring India has one of the biggest film industry based in Mumbai by the name of Bollywood.

The endeavors of the Pakistani government led to the formation of a non-profit organization, Aik Hunar Aik Nagar (AHAN) (loosely translated to mean ‘one village one product’ ) to facilitate rural small enterprises and help in the formation of artisan-producer cooperatives which will help in product development, quality control, marketing and technology up-grades. The mission of this venture is to create an enabling environment for poor handicrafts producer groups, particularly women and landless peasants, in order to better equip them to produce and market their handicrafts.

ADORN (Artisans Development Online Retail Network), a social enterprise, aims to promote the handicrafts industry and is thus working with AHAN to help introduce its products to a larger market through the internet to offer employment and growth opportunities for the artisans. But, instead of working in a top-down approach, Adorn fosters personal relationships, offers advice on product development and tries to work from the perspective of the artisan.

It is still not certain that how effective these two organizations are so far? Or that was another way of funds embezzlement by the corrupt Pakistani officials? Time will tell but having these two NGOs can at least give us some hope for better future for the Pakistani crafts.

Glass Bangles will make your heart sway!

Posted: April 1, 2011 in Glass Bangles
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Glass Babgles of Pakistan ( Credit Wikipedia)

Pakistan does not produce glass products as of European standards like chandeliers, glasses and other décor. For some unexplained reason, Pakistani glass is not considered of the highest quality probably the ratio of natural occurring mica in sand is to be blamed for that! But when it comes to bangles made of glass, definitely Pakistani artisans are at the top.

Bangle is a kind of bracelet that Pakistani women love to wear on their wrist. Bangles need to cover a sizeable portion of the wrist in order to be getting noticed. In India and Pakistan, bangles are not just other handicraft but they are remarkably associated with folklore of love, pottery, imagination femininity and delicacy. There are two main utilities of bangles. First, sweet jiggling noise of bangles makes the hearts of men sway with affection and second, matching bangles with dresses also make the outfit look beautiful.

Matching glass bangles (Credit Paklife.com)

Gone were the days when only nobility could afford to wear bangles. People will generally agree that colorful and stylish bangles create a more beautiful impression than a gold bangle. Gold has a class of its own but still it can’t be worn at all times. Bangles are also considered as a great gift to give someone on Eids and Christmas. Plastic and Metal bangles are also in vogue but these can’t compete with glass once when it comes to designing and delicacy.

Non-serious Role of Pakistan Export Bureau in promoting handicrafts: But why?

Posted: April 1, 2011 in Pakistan Export Bereau, Pakistan Export Promtion Board
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Government of Pakistan

Handicrafts of Pakistan are famous for their uniqueness, assortment and quality standards and therefore are quite capable of producing their distinctive mark around the globe. Though there are countless types and qualities of handicrafts being produced in Pakistan, but just a couple of those categories actually deserve our attention. For example, leather goods, brass, copperware, marble products, wood crafts, textile and block printing fabrics, embroideries, glass beads, jewelry, camel and snake skin products, pottery, hand-knotted carpets and rugs etc.

Due to intense international competition from Indian and China, lack of government’s interest, diminishing profits and bad infrastructure of handicrafts sector (which is actually known as cottage sector in Pakistan), the industry is in dire need of development and promotion in order to revive the culture and art of the Pakistani heritage.

According to the Pakistan Export Promotion Bureau, in 2008 $ 33M USD worth of handicrafts were exported to the USA, Europe and the Middle East which is extremely discoursing when compared to India’s 147 Million export figure for the same year.( Source: EPCH: Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts in India). EPCH in India has been given a free hand to undertake whatever steps are necessary where; as in Pakistan, is all about mismanagement and red-tape culture from top to bottom.

Each Province of Pakistan has its own inherent problems but the sad part is that there is no serious effort on the governmental level to solve these issues. Few of these problems are:

• Unawareness of quality control
• Tribal system creates hindrance for women to develop their skills and seek opportunities available for their development.
• Lack of working capital, transportation means (roads etc.)
• Non-alignment of products with the latest trends
• Lack of marketing and product designing
• Lack of awareness of facilities available

Despite the gravity of these issues, these problems can be pretty much resolved by the serious and sincere attitude of the concerned authorities. But the question is, when the authority will take action? Why don’t Pakistani departments promote a commodity that not only can help create goodwill and positive image of Pakistan but also provide job opportunities to hundreds of thousands of individuals and families. Unemployment in Pakistan currently stands at14.25 %. I think that encouraging small home industries can provide a solution to this problem.

Advent of Chinese wooden products in Pakistani local markets helps improve the standards of indigenous wooden industry.

Posted: March 28, 2011 in Wooden Handicrafts
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Wooden handicrafts are the most common among various types of Pakistani handicrafts. These crafts are very economical to produce due to wide spread use of modern machinery. Wooden handicrafts are not just built for decorative purposes but also produced while keeping their utility for the prospective consumer. For example, wooden ashtrays, key holders, Magazines rack, coffee and side tables of all sizes, chairs, bedroom and dining room furniture.

The most amazing features of all these products are their high quality finish. Though artisans used modern machinery to carve and assemble the wooden articles but still the use of centuries old polishing methods and hand painting make wooden crafts extremely exuberant. Particularly, foreigners love to purchase wooden handicrafts from Pakistan.

During old days, Pakistanis were not apparently knew the utility of packing wooden articles. Instead they designed them as “consumer ready” For example, if you need to buy a table, you will also need to arrange a small truck for its transportation. I remember long lines of Suzuki Pickups (small SUVs) outside wooden marketplaces where my family used to buy wooden stuff. With the advent of Chinese wooden products into local Pakistani markets, wood producers are trying to do everything they can to make their products more compatible. For that, they have to make their products more attractive, durable and transportable. As a result, the exports of Pakistani Wooden Products have increased significantly.

Types of woods most commonly used in Pakistani wooden articles and furniture are:

Mahogany
Sandal
Sheesham

Places from where you can purchase in Pakistan:
The hub of the wooden handicrafts remains Chinoit (the wooden capital of Pakistan), but wooden products with exquisite designs and fillings also being sold in bulk across the country. There are a couple of shops who manufacture wooden articles exclusively for their foreign clients like the Bombay Company and very few people know that the Bombay Company has its origin in Pakistan not in India.

Are Camels for Riding, Producing Exquisite Handicrafts or Child Abuse? It’s really hard to tell in Pakistan!

Posted: March 19, 2011 in Camel-Skin, Uncategorized
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Pakistan is not just blessed with four weathers but also has four land typologies. Very few countries have coastal lines to deserts, hell-frozen mountains and glaciers besides plain ands and Pakistan is one of them! Besides Mount Everest (which is in Nepal), Pakistan is the land of seven tallest mountains including the world’s second highest mountain K-2 in Karakoram mountain range in Himalayas. Pakistan also has the world’s driest desert called Cholistan located on its south eastern border with Indian Rajasthan. It is one of the most remote areas of Pakistan with no road access. The only way you can move from point A to B is via camels.

The desert resident has another usage of their beloved camels once they died. They use camel skin for making very exclusive and unique handicrafts. Till date, no other country is producing any camel-skin product besides Pakistan. Camel Skin and bones need special processing which is only possible in the hot and humid less environment of Cholistan desert. There are no leather processing and dying tanneries available for camel skin processing. Pakistani Camel products are also banned by the European Union and USA because of the use of underage kids for Camel racing. That’s why these kinds of unique camel -made handicrafts are only limited to Pakistan.

Handicraft Lamps made of Camel Skin ( Credit : Handicrafts of Multan)

[Camel Handicrafts need unusually high level of attention as all the process is done by hands. From skin drying to hand painting, even one wrong step the ruin the hard work of the entire team. Lamps made of camel skins are in high demand. Camel-skin made wallets, shoes, jackets, ashtrays and even furniture are also high in demand. Surprisingly, these handicrafts are pretty inexpensive as well.

Though I personally appreciate these artistic handicrafts but I don’t patronize and buy them because of the child abuse issue. I have posted a video from Youtube.com for you to judge whether these handicrafts really deserve our attention to be patronized. I think every caring person should raise voice to do something to stop this child abuse problem first. This practice is totally inhumane and unacceptable.

Interview with Dr. Ijlal Baber, Collector and Patron of Pakistani handicrafts based in Gainesville, FL

Posted: March 14, 2011 in Uncategorized
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Dr. ijlal Baber

Dr. Ijlal is a Surgeon of Nephrology at Shands Hospital in Gainesville. A longtime resident of Gainesville, Dr. Ijlal basically belongs to the biggest city of Pakistan i.e. Karachi. His interest and passion for Pakistani handicrafts is quite evident from his wide and exclusive handicrafts collection and vast knowledge about them. He usually does not visit his friends often because of his hectic schedule at Shands but surprisingly he has time to visit those people who share his passion about handicrafts. Lately, I invited him over to my house to share with thoughts in regards to handicrafts of Pakistani origin and he was kind enough to cordially accept my request.

I must admit that he has a deep understanding of the challenges faced by today’s Pakistani handicraft industry. He also knows about the history and origin of the handicrafts. So I started my conversation by asking him about the origin of the Pakistani handicrafts and according to him the history of Pakistani handicrafts goes back to Arayan era some 2000 B.C. According to his study, Pakistani handicrafts have imprints of nearly every dynasty that had ruled the Indian Subcontinent.

When asked what is the #1 challenge faced by the Pakistani handicrafts industry, he replied that failure of the government for not properly introducing these beautiful masterpieces of art to the world. He was also worried about the fact that the rival nations like India and Iran are also doing propaganda against Pakistani handicrafts particularly Carpet Industry by misrepresentation of child labor laws so that the European Union and other big importers can ban Pakistan made carpet from their carpets.

His interview is uploaded in this blog. You can hear his thoughts by clicking the link given below.

Handicrafts in Motion! Pakistani tangas, rickshaws and trucks express our cultural richness to the world!

Posted: March 13, 2011 in Traditional Transport
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A traditional hand-painted horse carriage is not limited for the use of only the royal family or aristocracy!  This can be your daily ride

Traditional Pakistani Tanga ( Credit = Pakistanilife.com)

if you reside in a Pakistani city or a village. Typical Pakistani horse carriages or “Tanga” are hand-painted and embellished with glass chandeliers and leather tops. The owner cum driver of the horse carriage is generally known as a Kochovan.  Kochovans have a special place and character in a Pakistani society. Though tangas are not liked at all in big cities because there slow moving “vehicles” create traffic problems but in the rural areas and small cities, people really value and appreciate their role. Nearly every school going kid uses a horse carriage as a school bus at least once. 

The tradition of painting unique designs goes back to ancient times when Indian rajas and maharajas used these custom built carriages for travel purposes.  If someone can afford, elephants were the top choice. Palkis were the most common during those days which were placed on elephants. Elephants were considered as a true royal transport and with the passage of time; they totally vanished from the streets. But horse carriages ( tangas) still maintain their presence even today despite the advent and popularity of motor vehicles in the cities of not just Indian subcontinent but across the world. There is a definite need to link this antique type of transport with cultural and social values of their respective societies. 

Pakistani cities are heavily littered with a lot of animal driven carts (mules, cows and donkeys besides horses) and carriages for transportation of passengers and goods alike even today! The presence of these slow moving carts creates traffic nuisances. Just imagine someone driving at 15 miles an hour in front

Pakistani Rakshaw Credit: Lahoreigirls.com

of you on a busy freeway! These carts are still in use because of general public inability to pay the high costs associated with gasoline driven motors. Since it is impossible to eliminate animals from the city streets, therefore a couple of Pakistani cities Municipal Corporation came up with the idea of converting these ugly looking carriages into living examples of culture and “heritage”.  

Pakistani city governments not only issue street permits to operate these carts but also subsidize the decorative expenses of its licensed carriages. There is also a strong tradition of decorating Trucks and Rickshaws in Pakistan along with carriages. Rickshaw is a two-stroke motorized version of a carriage use to transport passenger and goods. Foreigners in Pakistan have known rickshaws as space ships. Not every rickshaw driver is a keen art lover but he has to decorate his rickshaw in order to attract passengers.

Rickshaw is kind of a Pakistani societies symbol of progress because in Bangladesh (which was a part of Pakistan till 1971) still uses humans to pull their rickshaw’s (also known as human rickshaws- that scene is not pretty humane though).

Pakistani Truck Credit: Ali Akbar Khan

Pakistani truck drivers are also crazy about decorating their trucks as American truck drivers. The only difference is that the Pakistanis drivers do not use too much high tech toys. They use different themes (from religious to political) and styles to decorate their beloved trucks to express their personalities.

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