Beautiful Ring offer by East World Market

Mangni or Engagement first ceremony

In a typical arranged wedding the first ceremony is a proposal party at bride’s house, where the groom's parents and family elders formally ask the bride's parents for her hand in marriage. The families offer special prayer for the new couple then tea and refreshments are served. Sometime as a family tradition, the bride  may be gifted with an jewelry or a dress and the  groom were also presented with  same type of gifts.
Then come the formal ceremony to mark the engagement of the couple called as An engagement (Mangni) It is usually a small ceremony that takes place in the presence of a few close members of would-be bride's & groom’s families. Rings and Jora (dress) are exchanged between the two families. Traditionally, the bride and the groom were not seated together and the rings are placed on the bride's finger by the groom's mother or sister and specail garlands are given to the bride with a bites of sweet offer to her by seven married women in the groom family. In recent years however, segregated functions have become a rarity and rings are usually exchanged between the couple.
Special prayer and blessings for the couple are then recited and the wedding date is also decided by the elders.

Nikkah nama signing by girl

Wedding bridal car

traditional Pakistani wedding

Traditional Pakistani Wedding Customs


Marriages in Pakistan are celebrated with a great deal of fervor, pomp and style hence it has evolved in an occasion of absolute glitz glance. As a result elaborate planning and preparation needs to be put in to fulfill every girl’s lifelong dream of being married in the most memorable and spectacular way possible.

Marriage in Islam in both a solemn part that is to be respected by two partners also an act of devotion to God. A Nikah is performed that is an Islamic official wedding ceremony that usually takes place at the bride’s home. Nikah is attended by close family members, relatives, and friends of groom and bride. The marriage contract (nikah-naama) is registered with city government, it’s containing several terms and conditions that are to be respected by the bride and groom. It can include the bride’s right to divorce her husband, Nikah-naama specifies Mehr, the monetary amount the groom will give the bride. The Mehr guarantees the bride's freedom within the marriage, and acts as the bride's safety net.

The fathers of groom and bride (waris) act as witnesses to the wedding or the senior male, brother or uncle performs the ceremony. An Islamic clerk (called maulana or maulvi in Urdu) reads the prophetic sermon for marriage which also consists of selected verses from the Quran and waits for the Ijab-e-Qubul (proposal and acceptance) of wedding. Usually, the groom's side makes proposal and the bride's side conveys her assent. Maulvi and witnesses (gavah) take the nikah-naama to the bride and read it to her aloud. She accepts the nikah-naama saying "qabool kiya," and signs it. The nikah-naama is then taken to the groom and reads aloud to him. He also accepts saying "qabool kiya" and signs the document. The maulvi and witnesses all sign the nikah-naama contract and the wedding becomes legalAfter the wedding is legally announced, part favor filled with dates and misri are served from the groom's family. The groom is then escorted to his bride for further ceremonies. .

Arranged marriages have been an integral part of Pakistani society for years and are still prevalent. Marriages are often arranged within the family or within the same tribe however nowadays, love marriages are slowly becoming more common and acceptable in Pakistan. Arranged marriages in Pakistan often take long periods of time to finalize. The time from preparation until wedding day may be more than a year. When the wedding date approaches, all close relatives are invited for a typical Pakistani wedding that requires a considerable budget in order to accommodate them. In some cases, wedding dates are even postponed until the important relatives are able to arrive to the location of the reception from abroad. The wedding customs and celebrations also differ significantly depending on the geographical location as well as the families involved. However, a typical Pakistani wedding has at least three main customs involving the Mehndi or Henna ceremony (Rasme Henna), the vows or the Nikah which is a part of the actual wedding or Shadi ceremony and a  Valima offered by the groom's family.

Dastarkhan Table Cloth

Tea

Tea (Chai Culture)

Tea as its call in Urdu CHAI is traditional beverage in Pakistan and people are addict to this in such a extent that a day start with cup of tea, in a average family morning and evening tea is a must some family even drink tea after every meal. Whenever a guest arrives it’s a family tradition to offer hot tea with snack like biscuits, Samosas. Pakistanis are very hospitable by nature and love to entertain guest to their best. It’s a saying that best tea you get is at the trucks stand on the heavy way and they are called Chai Dhabas.


We are talking about chai culture so let me give some detail that the most basic form of chai is the black tea with milk and sugar. So we can say that There is no fixed recipe or preparation method for black chai and many families have their own special versions of the tea which make good blend but the key to make good black tea is to leave the tea leaves or mixture in the hot/boiling water long enough to get the flavor of the tea but not too long. Excessive exposure of tea to heat will release the bitter tannins in the tea leaves. Brewing the tea is a secret to make good tea so always use a teapot to brew the tea. Now day’s people are too busy and usually use teas bags but tea leaves have its own flavor. In my family tea time is very special as it’s the time we share each other company and discussion on different topics is a routine of the day.

There are many type of tea variations come to the table of Pakistani like Doodh patti chai or Pakki chai,Sulimain chai or Masala wali Chai,adhiya means half milk and water,subz(green )chai, Ginger(Adrak wali)chai,Qehwa & Kashmir chai. Let me share my family recipes for different type of teas

Doodh Patti Chai

21/2 cup of milk

2teaspoon tea leaves

2pieces of Cardamoms (choti illachi or green illachi)

Sugar to taste

Method: boil the milk on low flame then while boiling put the tea leaves and let it simmer by adding the cardamom which give a good aroma ,stir it a little and allow to brew a little then strained the tea leaves and pour in a mug or teacup and enjoy with rusks called in Urdu papa.

Green tea has a different kind of leaves from black tea it’s usually served after meal. But green tea you simply add leaves to hot boiling water and simmer a little then add lemon or sugar to it and drink hot.

Adrak Chai or Ginger chai

It’s good for stomach aches and usually given to children when they are sick.

1/2inch piece of gingercrushed,3teaspoon tea leaves,1/2teaspoon aniseed(snouf)!tablespoon basil leaves(tulsi ke patti)2/3cup milk,11/2cup water, sugar to taste,

Put water in a small pot on medium heat add ginger, basil, aniseed .bring the water to a boil. Reduce heat and let it simmer for 5 minutes with pot partially covered. Add the sugar, tea and milk to the mixture .boil a little then remove from heat strain and serve hot.



Kashmiri Chai, it’s a pink milk tea with pistachios and almond on top .mostly served in wedding or during winter season.

Method for preparation

1tablespoon green tea

4cups water

4ilachi or cardamom

Baking soda pinch

1/2litre milk

Sugar to taste

heat the water with green tea leaves until only two cups left in the pan add one cup of water more and keep boiling until it turn pink color add illachi and soda and simmer a little then remove from heat ,use a strainer and strains the tea water keep a side. In a separate pan heat milk mix the water mixture together and simmer a little then add pista and badam(almond)on top of your cups and serve hot.(tip the mixture of tea is pour into one mug to another mug many times as  this will enhance the taste)



Masala wali Chai

11/2 cup water

11/2inch stick of cinnamon

8 cardamoms (choti illachi/green one)

6whole cloves

1/4fresh ginger root or 1/4tsp ginger powder

2/3cup of milk

6teaspoon sugar

3tsp of tea leaves (chai ke Patti)

Simmer water with all the spices for 10 minutes on slow heat then add milk, sugar and tea leaves and simmer again for five minutes remove from heat and strain the tea chai and enjoy but be careful as it very hot cup of tea.

Glass Bangles

Glass Bangles (or as called Churiya in Urdu) or jewels on the wrist


Oh! What a beautiful adornment!

Bangles are a part of Pakistani women lives because they allow people to express their personality, individuality, and creativity. For centuries, women throughout Pakistan have been wearing bangles as decorative ornaments. Consequently, bangles have come to hold great cultural and historical significance. In Pakistan, many traditional ceremonies connect with bangles like woman wear symbolize their happy marriage and are called suhagan then there are bangles for brides which are presented by bride groom side and they are beautifully crafted in red color with golden pattern. Red bangles wear by the bride at the time of the wedding is considered auspicious also on the wedding of a girl her sisters distribute set of green or yellow bangles to all the ladies guest on her Mehndi, her last day at parents house where many guest were invited for dinner and then they put henna on her hand and offer her sweet candies .a lot of fun and singing and dancing take place.

Glass bangles make a sound like chuunn with each movement of the wearer wrist. Glass bangles have bewildered women from ages with their shimmering sparkles, tinkling sound, innovative patterns and magnificent colors. In olden days they were part of nobility but now these ornaments have become very popular with women of all ages. The romance connected with chooree kee chankaar (sound of the bangle) has not only been an integral part of eastern heritage but is now a part of all festive occasions in eastern culture. Evidence of Indus Civilization portrays bangles adoring the wrists of prehistoric women. Bangles have been found in many archaeological sites in Pakistan, with the oldest examples dating back to 2,000 B.C. or earlier. Those early bangles were usually made from copper, bronze, agate, or shell.

Now let me take you to our artisans’ world and see how these bangles are made although these days a variety of materials are used, in different designs, shape and color. They can be plastic, glass, silver with stones and wooden bangles. In semi-precious or precious metal form, bangles are often metal, silver and even gold. The most durable of bangles are gold. Glass bangles are the least durable, and may break with careless handing. Because of this, many women prefer gold bangles for everyday wear, and reserve glass bangles for special occasions.

As bangles are very fascinating with the intricate and colorful design, but do you know how these bangles are made?? Here we shall discuss the interesting yet complex process of making glass bangles with Salima (artisan). As she mentions that the process of Making Glass Bangles is a very tremendous work as raw glass for bangles is of the same material as prepared for other glassware, which is taken out of the furnace through the pipes. Without removing the pipes, the molten glass is beaten to make its dimensions equal. After this, the glass with the pipe is placed in another furnace which has an automated roller. When this molten glass comes in contact with the roller, it starts stretching like a thread and rolls around it. In this process a spring of glass is formed. To make separate bangles, this spring is then cut with the help of a cutter of diamond. But, at this stage, these bangles have two ends, which need to be joined. Usually, this job is taken up by separate units. The open ended bangles are given to the team of workers for the joining process. Traditionally, this process of joining of bangles is termed as 'Judai'. Workers doing joining or Judai use simple chimney of kerosene connected with the air input, generated by simple air compressor, locally known as 'Pankha'. In one unit, as many as 15 to 20 chimneys are connected with one air compressor. The joined bangles pass through another process popularly known as 'Sadhai'. In this process, joints of bangles are made to look neat and straight. Here, the glass is made to melt. The application of little pressure joins both the ends. The job of sadhai is usually accomplished by women workers. It may be noted that a large number of people are engaged with the work of Judai and Sadhai of bangles to earn their livelihood. This elegant beauty in a range of colors, styles come with different decorations. Then each bangle is hand decorated with different pattern and special glitter and paints are used. So in short once the bangles, in various shapes and sizes, have been crafted by the men, they are embellished with shiny artificial stones, beads, and glass fragments in colorful patterns by the women.
Glass bangles are unique & beautiful also they are easy in maintenance, and every woman can afford them and can create personal style statement. In Pakistan the city of Hyderabad is very famous for bangle making a whole industry flourishes there and provide living hood to many artisans.

The tale of Textile from Indus Civilization

The tale of Textile from Indus Civilization



Pakistan textile enjoys a rich heritage and the origin of textiles has traces back to the Indus valley Civilization. The handloom weavers of Pakistan have been spinning their magic for thousands of years. Cotton and silk fabrics produced today carry on century’s old tradition in design and craftsmanship incorporating modern quality and design techniques. Pakistan is famous for cotton crops and export cotton to other countries also.

Traditionally fiber is taken from plants or animals, for example cotton from cotton seed pods, linen from flax stems, wool from sheep hair, or silk from the spun cocoons of silkworms. In addition to these traditional materials, synthetic materials such as plastic acrylic are now used In order for the fiber to be made into cloth or clothing, it must be spun (or twisted) into a strand known as yarn. When the yarn is ready and dyed for use it can be made into cloth in a number of ways. Knitting and crochet are common methods of twisting and shaping the yarn into garments or fabric. The most common use of yarn to make cloth is weaved fabric called as Khadi or Khaddar, this type of fabric is coarse and bit loosely woven. Just for my reader information that in weaving, the yarn is wrapped on a frame called a loom and pulled taut vertically. This is known as the warp. Then another strand of yarn is worked back and forth wrapping over and under the warp. This wrapped yarn is called the weft. Most art and commercial textiles are made by this process but power loom are used to produce all type of fabric.

Let me describe the different type of weaving done in Pakistan as this information is given by Artisans (Muna Shamsuddin and family) of East World Market ,who are manufacturer of handloom material in Orangi Town.

Jamawar

“Jama” means robe and “war” is yard. The base of the jamawar is mostly silk thread called resham, with a little addition of polyester. The brocaded parts are woven in similar threads of silk and polyester. Most of the designs seen today are floral or with a traditional pattern called the kairy (the paisley) .Pakistan has the best woven material in Jamawar and this is mostly used for bridal dresses. Since this is a delicate fabric because of its texture and pattern. It get entangle easily with metallic embroidery and jewelry so care should be taken while wearing it. Now days the weaving of Jamawar in Pakistan is done on the jacquard loom. The pattas, which are the punched cards, controlled the actions of the loom, allowing automatic production of intricate woven patterns. The bigger the motif, the greater the number of cards required to make them. Another big change were brought about in 1985 in weaving where the source of inspiration was the Chinese Shanghai cloth. The patterns of the Chinese Shanghai were amended in accordance to the weave construction of the jamawar cloth.



Jamdani' - the great characteristic of fine art in hand weaving derived from a "PERSION" word 'JAM' meaning a 'cup' and 'DANI' denotes the 'container' . Jamdani weaving style flourished under rich and enlightened patronage of Mughal emperors. Excellence in weaving techniques the figured muslin with delicate motifs worked on by deft fingers, needed besides skill, unlimited patience, and one yard of cloth sometimes taking months to weave. The "Mughals" recognized this excellence art but kept the product rare to common people .this type of weaving also common in India & Bangladesh. The handloom weaves of Pakistan have been spinning their magic for generations. Cotton and silk fabrics produced today carry on century’s old tradition in design and craftsmanship incorporating modern quality and design techniques. The weavers are not only expert craftsmen, but artists who capture the spirit of the past in the unique traditional designs through bold use of colors and textures. There is also an enthusiasm for experimentation with new ideas and styles which is evident in the variety of designs and fabrics produced by the handloom industry.

Sussi

The wonders of handloom include: sussi, striped and checked material in cotton. The cloth is distinguished by its intricate stripes, char-khana (four squares) or jal of botis (flowers) all a piece of art in textile handloom .Mostly this type of fabrics are used to make  bed spread or Jacket ,vest and pajamas called Shalwar .This is a traditional rural crafts of Sindh.. The pattern was evolved centuries ago. Presently Gumbat and Tando Mohammad Khan in Sindh are the leading production centers . A large number of colors and patterns are used in weaving Sussi cloth. In recent times there has been a trend away from pure cotton Sussi to silk and synthetic blends as well and this make the cloth more popular because now it shrink less.


Brocade

This is another beautiful fine handspun creation of silk interwoven with gold or silver threads in a rainbow of colors and thread.

Silk brocades, texturally, are divided mainly into two groups:

Kamkhwab

Kam means little or scarcely. Khwab means a dream and it’s said that even with such a name ‘Its beauty, splendor and elegance can be hardly dreamt of’. Kamkhwab are heavy fabrics or several layers of warp threads with an elaborate all-over pattern of extra weft, which may be of silk, gold and / or silver threads or combinations. There may be three to seven layers of warp threads. (Tipara means three layers and Chaupara means four layers to Satpara meaning seven layers). Kin means golden in Chinese. Its specialty is in profusely using the gold and silver thread in a manner that sometimes leaves the silk background hardly visible.

Katan

These are called Katan (a thread prepared by twisting a different number of silk filaments) brocades; they are lighter in textures (lower thread count) than Kamkhwab but loosely woven in silk and has certain portions of zari (metallic thread) work as a pattern. These fabrics are mostly used for making garments and now days also used in home furnishing.

Zari wala silk or Zari wala georgette

Zari is generally of two types Badla and Kala batto. Badla Zari was made of flattened gold or silver wire with the ancient method of making zari from pure metal without any core thread. This accounted for its peculiar stiffness. Sometimes cracks would develop in the metal during the process of weaving which resulted in the loss of its natural luster and smoothness. Therefore weaving with Badla Zari was difficult and required great skill. Often a touch of Badla was given to floral motives to enhance the beauty. This type of zari has mostly gone out of favor amongst the contemporary weavers and they mostly depend on polyester or pure silk as a substitute. This thread can also be twisted with gold threads in order to make zari. The zari fiber is doubled with the yarn to prepare it for the process of weaving. Another reason for twisting the zari fiber is to reduce its excessive shine. The zari fiber is wrapped on reels and is doubled with the yarn with the help of a machine, on cones. These fibers are then wrapped on reels with the help of a doubling machine. The threads are then steamed and wrapped on the final spools. The required threads (silk, zari, etc) are then taken to the charkha, which is a machine used to make the warp for the weaving process. This type fabric is used to make headscarf ( dupattas)or dresses for ladies.

Khes Weaving

Khes is a weaved fabric .different pattern and color s of threads are used there a bit thick in texture as its used as blanket in summer or chilly winter night. its soft and can be used from both side .the beauty of this type of weaving that all done on small handloom mostly done by women in the privacy of their home. Khes is a traditional craft of Khairpur. Centuries ago to meet the need for a cotton blanket, it was an important item of export during the Mughal period. Presently Khes are used throughout Pakistan as bed covers, curtains, table cloths, floor coverings and sheets. Best know Khes come from Gumbat, nasarpur and Sukkur. Now a day the weaver started weaving shawl as there are in great demand.

KHADDAR:

Khaddar or Khadi is the simplest cotton wear and is described generally as coarse cloth. Until recently Khaddar was among the region’s major exports to Central Asia. Khaddar comes in a wide range of thickness, texture and design and is marketed in yardage for upholstery drapery, bed covers, quilts and garments. This cloth is easy to wear in summer and keep the body cool during humid and hot weather/

Decorative ribbon lace making

Lace making


Shazadi lace story

Ladies using sewing skill and making beautiful hand embellished laces with the help of ribbon, beads, crystal and diamontes. In Pakistan ladies wear dress with lot of embellishment so now days shops are full with different type of lace and braids these are all creation of our artisans who work at home and produce beautiful embellishments.Each Lace is a unique creative work.

Soof Stitch in Swati Embroidery

A tale of embroidery stitches from Indus Valley Civilization

Swati embroidery



Swati embroidery has a great significance and has won a unique status due to its innovative and creative. In the past when modern embroidery accessories were not easily available, pure silver yarn was used in embroidery and the dresses decorated this way were very heavy. As most of the females remain in the boundaries of their home in the values driven society of Swat, they have adopted this art as their past time especially the young girls who have not yet been married. These talented girls of the artistic valley of Swat decorate and adore all the dresses, shawls, blankets, bed sheets, pillow covers, table cloths, veils, head scarves, handkerchiefs, and caps etc which were to become a part of their dowry after their marriage. The verses, mosaics, natural landscapes, animals, flowers, fruits, vines and artistic symmetries created through crochet by these aesthetic girls are the most sought after works of embroidery in Swat. The golden lace embroidery of Swat has acquired a distinct recognition in the valley.
Soof stitch is highly sophisticated embroidery which means triangle. It is done with very fine surface satin stitching worked in only geometric forms, particularly the triangle, which gets composed so that they resemble hills. The counting the threads to make perfect triangle is key to this type of stitch. Mostly shawls are decorated with this kind of embroidery or created on a plain fabric and used as border for dresses.

Swati ladies stitch their clothes manually with the help of needles. They would stitch the dress from the reverse side and then double stitching was made on the dress. The bridal dresses were provided with impressive stitching/design on the collar and on the boundaries with colorful threads. This embroidery was known as chashmi bulbul (nightingale’s eye or mother eye).the stitches used are satin stitch, chain stitch and also embellished with shell and beads.

Ari work Wallet in pure leather