Annual Gharikhomik festival revived with enthusiasm

The festival was held under a project being implemented by Hashoo Foundation (HF) in partnership with the Centre for Culture and Development (CKU). These efforts are being made towards reviving the traditional festivals of Chitral which are on the verge of extinction. Gharikhomik is a traditional festival and has been very famous in the past. It is celebrated at the time of bringing down animals from the pastures in the end of the autumn season. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Sardar Hakim Khan, the tehsil nazim of Mastuj, applauded the efforts of Hashoo Foundation and CKU and said such initiatives should continue in order to preserve the indigenous culture of Chitral and other regions. The festival was attended by approximately 2,000 local community members with enormous participation from women of the area. Children also participated in the event and performed different role plays. During the daylong festival, various traditional games were played and different musical dances performed by local artisans. To make the festival more interesting, paragliders also showed their talent on the occasion. The festival concluded with a wonderful musical night where traditional songs in Khowar were performed by artisans. ]]>