Peshawar, the Walled City of yore, remains in the news mostly for terror attacks. The extensive coverage of terror-related activities has overshadowed the fact that this city, which is one of the oldest living cities in the region, has a glorious cultural heritage as well.

In olden times, artisans from other countries would visit Peshawar to introduce their artefacts to the locals. Cultural activist and intellectual, Dr Salahuddin, says that ‘Peshawar’ is derived from the term ‘Pesha war’ meaning ‘City of artisans or skilled people’. As art and artisans thrived various bazaars were named after respective trades or skills like Bazaar-i-Misgaran (coppersmith bazaar), Reti (ironsmith) Bazaar, Batair Bazan (quail market) and Chik Sazan (bamboo blinds bazaar). The main bazaar Qissa Khwani means ‘story-tellers’ bazaar.

It is heartening to learn that efforts are being made to revive the glorious art and culture of the city on individual and collective basis. The Artisan Village set up in 2012 by the Tourism Corporation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (TCKP) is among such endeavours. Launched at the Mughal Caravan Serai cells of the historical Gor Khattri Archaeological Complex, the project aims at reviving the dying arts and crafts of the city.

In 1641, Jahan Ara Begum, daughter of Mughal Emperor Shahjehan, ordered the construction of Caravan Serai here for travellers and traders travelling to and from Afghanistan and Central Asia through this route. During the British period, many of the serai cells were replaced with new settlements and only a few were retained. These have now been restored by the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

An innovative project by the Tourism Corporation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa aims to revive the centuries of crafts in the province

At the Artisan Village trainers work to impart their skills to trainees. “There are 18 master trainers and each has two trainees. A trainer gets Rs10,000 per month while a trainee receives Rs5,000 as stipend. They are also provided raw material, while revenue generated from the sale of the prepared products is reinvested to provide more raw material to the artisans,” says Zakirullah, who manages the project.

The products are exhibited for sale at the display centre set up at the same venue besides the Tourist Information Centre. These are also displayed at exhibitions organised in different parts of the country from time to time.

One of the trainers at the Artisan Village is 65-year-old Riaz Ahmed, who is imparting wax painting training to two students including a girl. Introduced in the subcontinent during the Mughal era, wax painting has been one of the famous arts for centuries.

Ahmed, a member of Qaumi Dastkari Council Pakistan, was awarded Medal of Excellence in 2012. Chosen by the Tourism and Culture Ministry to participate in an exhibition held in New Delhi, he won the Unesco-CCI (Crafts Council of India) 2004 Seal of Excellence for Handicrafts Products in South Asia out of 11 participating countries. He has also participated in exhibitions held in Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Nepal and Bangladesh, and is a regular participant of the annual Lok Virsa Mela organised in Islamabad.

Ahmad owned a shop in Saddar, Peshawar when foreigners used to visit the city frequently but with deterioration of law and order, he had to close the shop. Ahmed says he inherited the skill from his forefathers and has passed it on to his family members as well. Two of his sons have a shop in Islamabad.

Ahmed’s only concern is the lack of awareness among people about the value of the artwork. People should learn art and also value the work of other artists, he says.

Another master trainer is Mohammad Khalil who is imparting training on how to make Qaraquli cap. The Qaraquli cap, also known as Jinnah Cap in Pakistan for its frequent use by Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, is made from the fur of the Qaraqul breed of sheep or lamb, and is typically worn by men in Central and South Asia. Qaraqul means black fur in Turkish language.

Khalil says that the art of making Qaraquli cap has its origin in Afghanistan while its artisans are also found in America and Russia. His father, Rehmatullah, learnt the skill from a person who had come from Turkey. The family had a shop in Qissa Khwani Bazaar.

The prices depend on the colour; e.g. the grey cap costs Rs5,000 to Rs6,000; black, costs Rs10,000, while golden or brown is expensive pricing up to Rs20,000.

“In our country the trend of wearing Qaraquli cap has decreased for two factors — the young generation does not want to wear a hat that hides their trendy haircuts and the other factor is the cost,” says Khalil.

Despite it being their family craft, Khalil has not passed it on to his children. He says that the law and order situation has affected his business and keeping the bleak future in mind he asked his sons to opt for other fields.

Peshawar enjoyed a widespread reputation for its copper and brass work. The use of copper traces back to early Greek period and is said to be introduced in the subcontinent during the time of Alexander the Great and flourished through the Mughal era.

Khwaja Safar Ali, 70, who does carvings on copper, is from the sixth generation in his family to do this. “I learnt this art from my father Khwaja Abdul Wahid and my elder brother Khwaja Akhtar Ali who was awarded Medal of Excellence in 1979 and Pride of Performance in 1986 in recognition of his services,” says Safar Ali.

The family’s shop, “Ali Brothers” in Bazaar-i-Misgaran, was opened in 1860. Princess Anne; US vice-president Nelson Rockefeller; Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and Rashid Karami, the Lebanese prime minister are among the dignitaries who visited the shop. The family used to deliver their artefacts at the Governor House to be presented to various world personalities.

“On May 5, 2005, our family shop echoed with the sound of siren-wailing vehicles for the last time, when Angelina Jolie came here; as a UNHCR goodwill ambassador she was the last dignitary visiting us. Later we closed down our shop in 2007 as business deteriorated due to security reasons,” says Khwaja sahib.

Imparting training to two students, Safar Ali is satisfied that artisans have a forum now to carry on the work and pass on the skill to other people. “Art cannot die as long as the artisan practising it is alive,” he says with conviction.

The artisans of Peshawar are known for architectural woodwork and decoration pieces. Zahid Khan who is involved in this work for the last 25 years now imparts training at the Artisan Village. At the same time Mohammed Yousuf, 59, teaches trainees in tinkasazi — the art of making craft from reeds. Yousaf learnt tinkasazi from his father in childhood and has a shop in Dabgari area.

Women also have equal presence at the Artisan Village. Naseem Riaz, expert in jewellery designing and making traditional dresses, has been designing jewellery for the last 10 years. She feels pride in saying that one of her trainees got a job at a non-governmental organisation after learning the art while the other has started own business at Lok Virsa in Islamabad. Belonging to Khyber Agency, Riaz is all praise for her husband who fully supported her when in 2001 she decided to step out of her house and contest as a councillor in local government system.

She appreciated the project staff for giving women great respect and a favourable environment to work in.

Anjum Mukhtiar is running a small home-based knitting and crochet business for the last 21 years. She is happy with her trainer’s job and wants the project to continue. She believes that there is no fixed age for learning as an aged woman, Tasleem Kausar, is her student.

Trainees at the pottery work, Sumera Bilal and Zahida Bibi, are much satisfied with the training facilities and want to start their own business at home once they are done with learning.

As terrorism has badly affected tourism of the region, and foreigners are no longer visiting the area, we have also launched e-marketing through the project website to give our products access to international market, says Project Manager Zakirullah.

The TCKP has taken a commendable step by giving a good platform to the artisans. The project has successfully completed the three years of its first phase. As the Artisan Village is functioning inside historical Gor Khatri, a cultural landmark of Peshawar, the archaeology department of KP has come forward to fund the project in the next phase.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, November 29th, 2015