Crafts Of Cholistan (bahawalpur Punjab Pakistan)
Cholistan is locally known as Rohi.This famous desert is 30 km from Bahawalpur. East of Bahawalpur is the Cholistan Desert which covers an area of about 15,000 km and extends into the Thar Desert of India. The region was once watered by the Hakra River, known as the Saravati in vedic times. At one time there were 400 forts in the area and archaeological finds around the Derawar Fort, the only place with a perennial waterhole, indicate that it was contemporaneous with the Indus Valley Civilization. The average annual rainfall is only 12 cm, and the area's scant cultivation is made possible by underground wells, drawn up by camels. The water is stored in troughs, built by the tribes, between sandhills and din waterholes called tobas. The people are racially similar to those in Rajasthan - tall, with sharp features. They live in large, round, mud and grass huts, usually built on the top of sandhills. On the whole, they are pastoral and nomadic.The word Cholistan is derived from 'Cholna' which means moving and the word Cholistan is derived from the Turkic word chol, which means "desert". Cholistan thus means Land of the Desert. The people of Cholistan lead a semi-nomadic life, moving from one place to another in search of water and fodder for their animals. The dry bed of the Hakra River runs through the area, along which many settlements of the Indus Valley Civilization have been found.The local people are known as"Riasti"immigrants from other parts of the Punjab and India are known as abadkar and mohajir.Most local people speak Seraiki, but Punjabi and Urdu are also widely spoken.Bahawalpur is a cotton growing region hence a large number cotton based products are being manufactured here.One of the main features of Cholistani Crafts is that bright and attractive colours are being used irrespective of the area in which these are produced.The 'Khais' woven cloth,"Rilly" patch work,"Zari" thread embroidery are some good examples of Cholistani Craft.It may be mentioned that cotton textiles have always been a hallmark of craft of Indus valley civilization. Various kinds of khaddar-cloth are made for local consumption, and fine khaddar bedclothes and coarse lungies are woven here. A beautiful cloth called Sufi is also woven of silk and cotton, or with cotton wrap and silk wool.
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October 2017 -
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