Culture in agriculture
A 10-day festival jolted Faisalabad back to life
By Shahzada Irfan Ahmed
The entertainment-starved citizens of Faisalabad had an experience of their lifetime this month when they were to host and entertain hordes of people pouring in from all parts of Punjab and beyond.
Normally those amongst them – who can afford and there are many in this hub of textiles industry – travel all the way to Lahore on weekends. Here they incite their taste buds at the finest food outlets, watch some blockbuster at a newly set-up cinema and take their kids to playgrounds, joy and fun lands and local versions of theme parks before finally returning to their city.
Their roles however reversed as the Golden Jubilee Festival held by the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (UAF), on 50 years of its existence, offered endless entertainment to the visitors who thronged the place. To name a few there were horse and cattle shows, cultural shows, tent-pegging competitions, kisan mela, stalls exhibiting research in the fields of livestock and agriculture, kabaddi matches, fancy birds and animal shows, beauty contests among cattle, milk production competitions and what not.
No doubt it was a nostalgic experience for a large number of visitors from Lahore. Their city had been host to Horse and Cattle and Industrial Exhibition shows for years at the strategically placed Fortress Stadium in cantonment area. Disbanded in Lahore for security reasons this show was held in Faisalabad, quite ironically less than a week after a major terrorist car bomb attack had rocked the city.
“There was a lot of pressure on us and people were sceptical about the security situation. But we took up the challenge and made the event a roaring success,” says Dr Jalal Arif, UAF Media Director. He says every teacher, student and other employee of the university formed part of the security apparatus and extended a helping hand to the personnel of law enforcement authorities deployed in the vicinity.
While the conversation is going on, Zain Shahid, a fifth-grader at a local school, intervenes and points to a nearby crowded garden saying, “That’s the place where real action is taking place…. you must not miss it!” He was absolutely right.
And the venue was a display point for fancy/ornamental-imported birds including pheasants, expensive pigeons, rare breeds of peacocks, and the most-viewed miniature house. The cheerful Zain, who took on himself the role of a guide, had come here for the third consecutive day, mainly to have a complimentary ride on this horse.
“These fully-grown horses may have an average height between two to two-and-a-half feet and may cost between three to five lakhs,” says Mian Naveed-ur-Rehman, the representative of Lyallpur Fancy Birds Society. He tells the miniature horse brought to the event belongs to a large textile group, which breeds them at its farms.
“None of the species present here is for sale,” he says. The display has been put up on the request of the university to add colour to the event. Naveed says the Wild Life Department officials worry them needlessly particularly during the inland movement of these species.
“We have asked the university to endorse us to avoid this irritation as we may move these birds to other parts of the country for research purposes. If this does not happen the society may refuse to display these birds next time the university requests us to do so, he says. “The wildlife officials must go after those who are destroying biodiversity of the country. By importing new species we are in fact adding to it and must be honoured for that.”
Tent-pegging and kabaddi contests were the biggest attraction as many watchers gathered on the field, pavilions, boundary walls and some were even hanging by the trees. Every time a rider on the back of a darting horse succeeded in piercing and carrying away a ground target, with the help of a lance, there was deafening roar emanating from all around.
Last but not the least was the beauty contest amongst various genres of cattle. None of the participants was less than those seen near Eid-ul-Azha carrying price tags worth hundreds of thousands of rupees per head. It was a treat to watch breeders parading their animals in front of judges and calling them with names like Sapna, Jamalo, Maharani and Lado. Surprisingly weight and size were not the criteria for success. Those boasting symmetric bodies, shiny skins, attractive gaits and postures and mastani akh (enchanting eyes), walked away with prizes while the overweight lot was disqualified right away.
“Eh meri dhee aye, koi ehnu dangar naa samjhay (She’s my daughter and no one should take it as a cattle),” were the words of a proud owner that made every attendant of the prize distribution ceremony laugh.