CHITRAL: Uchal Festival, the annual religious festival celebrated by the people of Kalash valley, concluded with all its colours and charms on Friday.
A large number of foreign and domestic tourists attended the festival despite bad weather.
They said that Kalash valley was very beautiful, adding that Pakistan was a peaceful country.
“The freedom that is in Pakistan is not available to the minorities in India,” said the Sikh tourists.
“Kalash and the people here are very beautiful,” said the women tourists.
During the festival, the young boys and girls gathered at the community hall where they sang songs and danced to the drumbeat.
The members of Kalash community served local dishes to the foreign and domestic tourists as part of the celebrations.
The Kalash women and girls decorated their houses. They were attired in traditional black robes, ornate cowries shelled headdresses and adorned with coloured necklaces. They danced in a circle.
During the festival, prayers and processions were held at a high plateau outside the village.
The festival is celebrated in annual harvesting with singing, dancing and paying homage to the nature for blessing them with good food and fruits.
The Uchal festival is one of the cultural festivals marked by the Kalash community like many other festivals around the year. It is marked in the barley and wheat harvest season every year in August.
