INTEGRATE AND CREATE

Interactive forms of community-based tourism in the Walled City of Lahore are not merely about purchasing traditional crafts from artisans. The act of buying an ethnic token of memory, in the form of a well-crafted souvenir, is not a wholesome cultural experience – the essence of these crafts does not lie clearly in the resulting object. It rests in the cultural practice of creation itself. Experiencing cultural tourism is also not about watching artisans create masterpieces, displaying their process and lifestyle like an artifact in a museum. It is about participating in integration with the community and embarking on a creative journey in innovative craft-design workshops – weaving connections with the people.

THE PHANTASMAGORIC SKY

A vibrant sky studded with a mass of soaring kites isn’t just a mere phantasmagoria but an event steeped in the centuries-old tradition of kite-making and kite-flying in Lahore. The once-celebrated annual festival of Basant, which is steeped in Hindu mythology, marking the end of winter and the herald of blossoming spring, allowed this tradition to prevail. At the festival, families, and friends, would gather over narrow rooftops, expertly handling kite strings with calloused hands, hoping to emerge victorious from the battle of kites. The lethal casualties caused by dangerous metallic kite strings manufactured in recent years resulted in banning Basant. However, this does not undermine the ancient tradition, rooted in the street culture, of kite-flying and kite-making. It is not only a profession of crafting high-quality kites, with varying designs and sizes but a skill that most locals proudly swank. Young boys constructing kites, with light-weight paper and bamboo sticks for leisure, is undeniably their legacy.