Lahore City District Government should have proof-read their official website before publishing it to the Internet:
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How Do You Spell Pakisatan Pakistan?
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Category Archives: Pakistan
Hani and Mahwish’s 2nd Wedding Reception
Hani and Mahwish’s second wedding reception was held at the Pearl Continental Hotel, Karachi, two days after the first reception. As with tradition, this second wedding dinner was hosted by the Groom’s (Hani’s) family, in effect, as a thank you to the Bride’s (Mahwish’s) family for granting her hand in marriage.
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Hani and Mahwish’s 1st Wedding Reception
Finally, I’m posting the photos from brilliant couple Hani and Mahwish’s wedding receptions in Karachi. Hani and Mahwish have already returned to Pakistan after their honeymoon in Australia!
As with tradition, Groom Hani and Bride Mahwish had two wedding receptions. The first one, held in a large marquee, was hosted by Mahwish’s family. This was the more important reception as Mahwish’s family was, in effect, giving her away to Hani.
Although the receptions were very formal events with no singing or dancing, the traditional suits and dresses made the event very colourful. Many of the females also sported intricate henna tattos on their hands and feet.
The food was open-buffet style. There is almost always heaps of food left over as the hosts cater for everybody invited to the wedding, often several hundred people, despite the fact that lots of people do not turn up.
Winter is wedding season in Pakistan and locals have to plan their schedule carefully as with so many weddings occuring at the same time, with several events per wedding, clashes between events inevitably occur.
Arriving to the event
On the stage
Siblings Huda, Hadi and Hani along with Mahwish and her sister
A beaming Mahwish in her stunning wedding dress
‘Guarding’ the wedding couple
With Hani’s parents
The reception marquee
Huda’s hennaed hands
Surrounded by Hani’s friends
Sampling the wedding cake. Note: although the wedding cake looks like a traditional ‘Western’ wedding fruit cake, it was in fact a delicious chocolate cake.
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Pakistan – Hani, His Friends And Family
Hani, along with his friends and family looked after me wonderfully when I was in Karachi.
On the roof of Tabish’s place, Karachi
With Hani
Hani’s brother Hadi
The TV room in Hani’s and Mahwish’s new place, upstair’s from Hani’s family
Siblings Huda, Hani and Hadi
At Cafe Zouk, Karachi
On Christmas day with Hani and Hadi
Hani’s cousin Michel and Hani’s family’s driver, one of their several helpers
With Hani and Mahwish
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Lahore Pakistan
After Hani and Mehwish’s 2 wedding receptions in Karachi I flew north to Lahore. Lahore, located close to the Indian border, has an ancient past and is Pakistan’s main tourist centre. It is the capital of Punjab Province with Punjabi being the major spoken language. Lahore is also noted for its shopping and I bought some bargain souvenirs.
The next two videos were shot from a rickshaw on the way to the Data Sahib Shrine. In the second video, note the guy yelling from the van approximately 12 seconds in. He wasn’t too complimentary!
Pigeons on the roof of the Data Sahib Shrine
From the Hospital District
The decorations on the right are of a florist in the old city
The grounds of the World Heritage-listed Lahore Fort with the Badshahi Mosque in the background
The fort entry fee sign
In the fort grounds
Some of the architecture in the fort buildings, like this elephant, was intricate and beautiful
I love reflections
Lahore Fort tilework
The Lahore Fort
I didn’t see as much as I wanted to in Lahore as first thing on all mornings but one I had to rush to the toilet. For one or two hours each morning I didn’t feel 100%. By the time I felt good half the day was gone. The only morning I did not need to go to the loo I ate KFC (for health reasons, of course) the night before. At KFC I was served by speech and hearing impaired employees. The restaurant used a special system of hand signals to communicate with.
Lahore’s pollution was also challenging. I developed a sore throat and then a cold because of it. In Karachi I was protected from the pollution most of the time, travelling by air-conditioned car and staying at Hani’s place. I can’t imagine what it’s like in the heat of summer. To get used to this part of the world and enjoy their trip properly, people should stay at least a month.
The air pollution is evident in this Old City photograph
Fish offal, foam boxes and untreated sewerage make for a delightful smell and a photo not found in official tourism promotions
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Pakistan Feast of Sacrifice
The last few days of my trip to Pakistan coincided with the first half of Eid ul-Azha (also known as the Feast of Sacrifice in English, Eid ul-Adha in Pakistan or Kurban Bayrami in Turkish).
Previously I have spent this feast in Sivasli/Antalya, Aleppo and Pamukkale/Selcuk/Izmir. In 2003 I just missed out on spending the feast in Egypt.
Just like in Turkey, the most obvious signs of the of the holiday were livestock (mainly goats, sheep and cattle) in unusual places. I even saw two goats in the centre of Lahore dressed in jackets with their legs sticking through the sleaves!
Livestock feed markets for animals prior to their sacrifice, on the side of a Karachi road
A soon-to-be sacrificed Brahman cow in Lahore’s old city
Goats in Lahore
A large livestock market on the outskirts of Lahore. Because of this market and the cars surrounding it my already late bus to Islamabad was delayed further.
I arrived back to Karachi too late to witness Hani’s family sacrifice a cow and a sheep, but, of course, there was still plenty of food left over from the barbecue.
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A Sudden Spike
Pakistan Music
Pakistani music is diverse and I managed to sample a few styles during my trip.
The music at the second reception consisted of a tabla and a sitar, the basis for Pakistani classical music.
Following are three photos and three videos from the Qawwali performances of 28 December. Vocals dominate the Qawwali style of music and the singing can get quite animated at times. Worldwide, the most famous Qawwali singer was Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, someone Eddie Vedder was privileged enough to work with.
Every so often a man would come around to collect tips for the group then performing. At least two or three different formations performed. Some people went and threw notes over the band or other audience members just like at a Turkish wedding.
Following the Qawwali performance, outside of the Shrine of Data Sahib some Gypsies performed in the street. They are societal outcasts with their long hair, body piercings and different dress but are seen as holy/providing good fortune, hence the crowd. Note the bells hung around their belts. These guys also attended the Sufi dancing that night.
Prior to the dancing the brothers Goonga and Mithu Sain drummed, at one stage joined by a saxophonist. The below video is pitch black and the sound is muffled because I recorded it with my camera in my bag as taking of images was not allowed. Despite these defects, the sound is still cool, particularly for anyone into jungle p0rn music or under the influence of mind-altering substances.
Later in the evening the dancers came on and starting dancing their freestyle Sufi styles. The almost purely male crowd were enjoying their hash in various forms and everyone had mellowed out so I slyly recorded the next video. Two of the dancers whirling themselves into ectasy in the below video were not originally meant to be dancing. The guy with the hat gave Drummer Goonga Sain a 1,000 rupee note (the largest Pakistani denomination, about USD 16.50) and for that his mate was allowed to sit front and centre and he could dance with impunity. The guy in the mustard-coloured dress insisted on dancing despite the best efforts to get rid of him by one or two of the ‘real’ dancers.
Despite the extremely loud drum noise, asleep in the tree above where I was sitting were pigeons. Unfortunately, the two people sitting next to me were shat on 2 or 3 times by these winged rats.
As the night was cold, the concrete seat uncomfortable and, most importantly, I wasn’t smoking the weed, I did not totally get into the sound and left with other Regale Internet Inn backpackers before the performance finished early the next morning. Outside the courtyard, other drummers were doing their stuff in front of another audience.
The ektara
