Visitors, mostly families and children, were enthralled by performers, particularly amusing puppet faces boys, and culture show and traditional dances at a two-day Cuisine and Culture festival, which concluded here on Sunday.
The two-day event "Cuisine and Culture Festival" was organised by Tourism Corporation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (TCKP), at the lush green grounds of Peshawar Garrison Service Club.
Brisk buying activities were also witnessed at various stalls, especially of antique, gems and stones, Chitrali handicraft jewellery, Kohistani embroidery, pakol, karkol, kaddar, and shawls, as women were seen busy to choose various stuffs there. A flowers’ stall set up next to the corridor, gave a symbolic welcome and drew attention of every one, because Peshawar is also known as the city of flowers. The festival was an attempt to pull the traumatised people out of grief after the Peshawar carnage.
On the second day, the festival pulled in large crowds. A lot of fun and entertainment with colours of art, traditions and culture of Pakhtuns, greatly fascinated the people. Visitors also tasted the traditional foods, like dam pukh, Afghan cuisine, Chitrali cuisine, ‘saag and makai roti’, chapal kabab, Painda/sohbat, sajji, barbeque, Nowshera fish, seekh kabab, Patta Tikka, Hazara Pakorra, Charsadda ghatay rojai, sweets and fruit.
Chefs could be seen preparing exotic meat dishes such as chapli kebabs, sajji, seekh kebabs, fish and dam pukh. saag, makai roti and rice of Charsadda were also being cooked to cater to different taste buds. The savoury dishes were complimented with sweets of Rajar, Charsadda and Mardan.
The cultural dance performers also captivated the audiences presented by Kalash, Mehsud, Chitrali, Khattak, and Afghan troupes. Children were seen running around balloons and enjoying, while female visitors took keen interest in various items showcased at various stalls. Similarly, musicians from various bands, pop and Pashto folk singers, also entertained a lot the audiences at the late night show.
According to organisers, the festival was aimed at promoting soft image of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, besides to inform them of its rich tradition and culture and provide a recreational activity as well.
Visitors appreciated the step of TCKP for arranging recreational activity and cultural festival in Peshawar. They said the step would be helpful in keeping alive dying traditions, art and cultures of Pakhtuns, besides to pull them out of the shock after the brazen Peshawar terrorism incident.
The Daily Times
