As it flowers
A.M. Khan
Every year after February, many valleys and sub-valleys in Chitral begin blossoming and its landscape flourishing. The spatiality of seasonal bifurcation between kuh and sarhad continues unfolding with weatherly patterns in these areas differently.
Today, I took a chance of sitting in a parcel of land bloomed green with yellow flowers. It was not the white flower that remains to be famous in this season. I took a little of it back home receiving reward in kind for glad tidings. That has been a beautiful past tradition of Chitral, after winter season, in which as natural flowers bloom with greenery would be taken back home. Flowers are presented as a symbol of greenery, life, beauty, spring and warmth.
As a tradition, one after reaching home while taking flowers secretly leaves these blossoms into the lab of someone who could reward for it. By tradition whoever receives flowers becomes bound to pay for it, in fact, in happiness of life in soil after winter. The reward must be of dry fruits, nuts or any other thing in her/his disposal for giving away. One who brings flowers (kurkunispru) chooses rather someone who could better reward for that glad tiding.
Spring has happened to be a cherishing coming for living beings in Chitral. As snowfall turning into rain is the beginning of warmth in the land and environment. Much famous for its winter festivals, spring equinox was widely (is limitedly) celebrated in Chitral as the beginning of life on earth. Nauroz festival in Chitral is in fact the celebration of the arrival of spring or life on earth.
It has been a tradition in many parts of Chitral to start working in fields, water channels and resuming construction works and most importantly opening of events in past after spring equinox. We always brag of being cultured and have a ‘rich cultural tradition’ that we have inherited (is eleven days away) comes after the tradition of giving away flowers.