PESHAWAR:Hundreds of thousands of tourists turned up for a musical show laced with traditional khattak dance, skits of the pride of performance artists including Said Rehman Sheeno, Zardad Bulbul enthralled the sitting spectators with their par excellent comic performances in the Gabeen Jabba Sports and Culture Festival at Gabeen Jabba top covered with heavy night snowfall.
Deputy Commissioner Swat Junaid Khan, Ex-Additional Secretary Sports Tashfeen Haider, Director Youth Saleem Jan Marwat, Regional Sports Officer Kashif Farhan, officials of the district administration and hundreds of thousands of local and foreign tourists were present.
The show started with a stunning performance of the traditional Khattak dance of the Frontier Corps jawans who received thundering applause with many of the foreign and local tourists even joining them at the stage on the melodious tones of Pashto songs.
Khattak dance is a swift martial Atharn dance usually performed while carrying a sword and a handkerchief by the tribesmen from the agile Khattak tribe of Pashtuns in Pakistan and some eastern parts of Afghanistan.
It was performed by Khattak warriors before going to war in the time of Malik Shahbaz Khan Khattak, and then Khushal Khan Khattak. It was used as a war-preparation exercise and is known to be the only dance with swordplay. Aside from the Pashtun’s classical literature, popular ballads, the Pashtunwali (the common code of social values), the khattak is part of the group’s collective identity.
The Khattak dance team, widely famous at international level and have hundreds of such performances, were so enthusiastic in their arithmetic performance by receiving thundering applause during the jam-packed show with people from the nearby villages were also there.
Pashtuns are well known for their bravery and hospitality across the world but very little is written about their penchant, romanticism and passion for traditional dances. Each Pashtun tribe has its own tribal dance or Aharn (Pashto word for a family of identical folk dances) and the most popular is Khattak dance – a symbol of courage and heroism, but confined to male dancers only.
Most Khattaks live in Karak, Peshawar, Kohat, Mardan, Dera Ismail Khan, Akora Khattak, Nowshera with small pockets also living in Kandahar and Khost areas of neighbouring Afghanistan. Varied theories trot out different descriptions, explanations and background about the origin of this dance, any way the show turned into a melodious gathering.
Except for the Khattak dance, all the other Pashtun folk dances start with a slow rhythm and gradually gain momentum. In Khattak dance, men dressed in traditional clothing cross their sharp swords in the air on every changing beat of the drum. Controlled body movements and swift twists on fast drum beats along with swinging swords in a circle makes Khattak dance unique and conspicuous.
Earlier, related to snow sports in the festival Teqball first ever Championship got under way that attracted many youth to be part of the festivity. Motive of this event is to promote KP Tourism and spread peace through Sports, US Embassy Youth Ambassador Absar Ali told reporter during the event.
There was an exhibition match of the TeQ Ball, originated by Hungarian officials recently in Pakistan, followed by Men’s Singles, Women Singles, Cross Country TeQ Ball, Men doubles, tug of war, mass wrestling, judo, martial art demonstration were part of the day’s proceedings. The most awaited road-cycling event would be played on the last day with the national and international cyclists participating. The cycling race started from Loke Chowk and would culminate after 10-kilometers downward.
Speaking on this occasion, Deputy Commissioner Junaid Khan said on the directives of KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan we are going to declare Swat as the capital city of tourism because there is more tourism potential to explore. He said a spring festival would be organized in Mingora very soon. Besides to attract foreign and local tourists, a mega and grand festival would be organized in scenic Maidan, Author during the summer season. He said things are going in the right direction after the pandemic hit the tourism industries so efforts are afoot to introduce more ski slopes and would be developed for boosting ski sports in Pakistan. He also welcomed the tourists and ensured full security to them during their visit to various tourist sites.