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Life Style of Kasur City
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Customs and Traditions
Kasur past has been nurtured by Sufi Saints like Baba Bulleh Shah, Baba Kamal Chishti,Imam
Shah Bukhari, on one hand and by musicians, singers like Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan,
Ustad Barkat Ali Khan, Ustad Amanat Ali Khan, Malka-e-Tarrannam Noor Jehan etc.
on the other hand.
The important cultural events in the district are the Urs of Baba Bulleh Shah and
Urs of Baba Imam Shah Bukhari as well as the Urs of Baba Sheikh Bhago.Kasur is also
known in folklore for its slippers. A famous Punjabi folk song is :"Jutti Kasuri,
Paire na puri, hai rabba ve sahnu turna paya." Spices, salts and Ghee (butter
oil) are added to them for flavor and taste. The chief meals are taken just before
mid-day and in the evening before sun set but city folks generally have three meals.
Food: The staple food of the area is wheat, rice and pulses.
Dress
The local dress consists of Shalwar Kameez. A long piece of cloth called Chaddar
is usually thrown over the shoulders. Achkan and Sherwani are worn on formal occasions
by most people, but quite a large number of Muhajirs (refugees) wear these as normal
dress.
In the villages, a Kurta with Tehband (sheet round of legs) and Safa on shoulders
is the most common dress.
The Pagri still carries a sign of respectability and some people in the cities while
most people in the villages have this as the sole head-dress.
The women's clothes are generally more colorful with popular shades of red and yellow.
Women clothing consists of Shalwar, Kamiz and Dopatta or Chaddar to cover their
heads and upper part of the body. Phulkari is a silk embroidered shawl often fancied
by the rural women-folks.
Saree is only worn by women in towns and cities on formal occasions. The most common
footwear for men in the villages is shoes of rough leather usually made by the village
shoemaker. Purdah is very common amongst the lower, middle and upper middle class
women but rare amongst women of upper class.Boots are worn by those living in the
cities and towns while women folk-wear sandal or slippers.
Basant
Basant is annual festival celebration of spring season, which connotes that winter
is gone and days of joy and blossom have arrived as harvest of wheat crop is also
anticipated in same season.Boots are worn by those living in the cities and towns
while women folk-wear sandal or slippers. Use of yellowish shades during festival
of basant hints towards the joy and blossom of spring and the shining sun. Kasur
is very famous all around the world for its specific basant festival, which is now
linked with more formal functions in its neighbor city Lahore.
Special parties, night parties are held by people to celebrate basant event, people
prepares especial food, colorful dresses, and singers create especial musical songs
for basant event.
Every child, every man and woman celebrate basant with great enthusiasm. Basant
of Kasur has now been facing several hurdles to be celebrated as an especial event
because of the sub standard strings that are used to fly kites.
These strings have taken the lives of so many people and thus government of Pakistan
allows people to celebrate basant only for one or two days and apart these days
government of Punjab ban basant.
Flora and Fauna
Flora: The district has been greatly modified by human agency of the old open
forests of small trees and shrubs; there remains only a few Rakhs or portions of
forest which are kept as gazing ground for cattle etc.
Amongst trees the most important are Kikar (Acacia arbica), Shisham or Tahli (Dalbergia
sissoo), Beri (Zizyphus jajaba), Toot (Morus marlaccae), Sharin (Albizzia lebbek,
Dharek (Malia azerdaracb), Phulahi (Acacia modesta), and Nim (Melia indica), Piple
(Ficus indica) are planted for shade.The growth in Rakhs is composed mainly of three
kinds of trees Jand (Prosopis spicigera), Karril (Capparis aphylla), and van or
Jal (Salvadora obeoides).
Occasionally pelu (acacia Loucophhloea) and Farash (Tamarix articulate) are also
found. Pilchi (Tamarix gallio) is found on moist sandy soil along the rivers and
is used for wicker-work, basket making etc.
Fauna: Wolf and jackal are the only wild animals of any importance.
The former being met with occasionally in the low land wastes of Chunian Tehsil
but jackal are found every where. Changa Manga reserve a thick forest is the only
area in which a few Nelgai, pig, peafowl and here are found.
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