Ancient Culture of South Balochistan and Cultural Creative Workshop

Signalian · Apr 10, 2023

As we know that in this age of information technology (IT), whenever someone thinks of visiting a new area, he researches the information of his interest related to that area on the internet, which generally includes the people, lifestyle, culture, monuments and tourist attractions of the area. Similarly, when I came to know that I was going to Turbat, I tried to explore information of my interest on YouTube about the area. Surprisingly, I could not discover quality information about the culture, traditions, music and food of Turbat and its adjoining areas on YouTube. However, a lot of material was available on the internet about the security issues of these areas, which was not encouraging to learn.

Nevertheless, on my arrival, I visited Turbat, Balida and Panjgur, and met the local people. Amazingly, I found out that the people of these areas are very hospitable and loving. Similarly, the culture here is not only the ancient culture of Pakistan and South Asia, rather the history of this nation and culture is centuries old. For instance, Meri Kalat, an ancient and historical fort, is located in Turbat. According to local tradition, the story of ‘Sasi’ and ‘Panu’ reinforces the rule of the Hittite Clan over this fort. This fort was inhabited by people from twelve different periods, which is 5500 to 6000 years old. Similarly, there are about five graves of companions of Prophet Muhammad (PBUM) and saints in Panjgur and Washak. Specifically, Panjgur holds a unique position in Balochistan in terms of production of dates, where thousands of tons of high-quality dates are produced every year among which Muzafati, Jawan Sohar, Rabai and Sabzu Alina are on top. Additionally, it is worth mentioning that the literacy rate of Turbat and Panjgur is the highest in Balochistan. The need to motivate the youth to brand their area by projecting its ancient culture and tradition in a better way was felt as ultimately, they will become the positive face of Balochistan and lead the province. In order to fulfill this desire, awareness lectures were given to the students at Atta Shad Degree College, Girls Degree College and University of Turbat.

During these interactions, it was realized that the students were interested in actively participating in this campaign. Consequently, to implement this, efforts were madeto organize a day-long cultural creative workshop for the volunteers. After consulting media production specialists of the reputed organizations, a day-long cultural creativity workshop was organized at the Headquarters of Frontier Corps, Balochistan South in Turbat. During the workshop, experts guided 130 students on the intricacies of producing amateur short films. At the end of the workshop, 41 students registered to produce short projects on their favorite topics. Finally, in a short span of one week, students produced films which were more beautiful than expected.