MINGORA: The students of different educational institutions and members of civil society thronged a photo exhibition highlighting the rich cultural heritage of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The two-day exhibition titled “Culture and people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa” was organised by provincial directorate of culture to revive indigenous culture. The exhibition was featuring Tahir Saleem’s photography, highlighting day-to-day life in the province.

“Our young generation gives more time to cellular phones and social media. The western culture is pushing them away of our rich cultural heritage. So, I have tried to focus on the traditional activities of Pakhtun society including games, dresses and other practices,” Mr Saleem told Dawn.

Iqbal Hussain, a student, who was taking keen interest in different photos, said that there were several photos of the games and social practices, which the new generation had not seen. “We are happy to see so many aspects of our culture,” he said.

Tariq Hussain, another visitor, said that he saw photos of many places in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa about which he did not know. “It was refreshing experience for us. We got knowledge about different cultures and traditions of our province. I was attracted by the photos depicting floral art,” he added.

Some culture activists present on the occasion said that the exhibition was like a rewound movie of their past as it reminded them many forgotten practices and traditions.

“Such events must be organised on regular basis to keep our young generation abreast of our forgotten heritage,” said Abdul Ali Ashna, a culture activist in Mingora.

Javed Khan, an organiser of the event, said that the basic aim of the exhibition was to inform the new generation about their cultural heritage. He said that they invited students of many schools and colleges to the exhibition.

“We tried to link the new generation with the heritage which is either fast fading or already faded. From the keen interest of the visitors, I can claim that we are successful in it,” said Mr Khan.

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2016