Spring festival called Basant. Due at the spring equinox, the festival has been celebrated with great zeal in recent years. Lahore, the capital of the Punjab is all set to experience a flood of tourists from all over the country and abroad. The sky will be covered with millions of kites as young people throng the rooftops to compete with each other during the uniquely enthralling event.

Basant has a lot to due with kite flying, dancing and night-long partying. Girls love to wear yellow shalwar kameezes during the season and dress up most fabulously for the occasion. Punjabi girls from Islambad and as far away as Bahawalpur and even Karachi converge upon Lahore to partake in the much awaited Basant celebrations.

About Authors:

Aimon and Natasha, the authors of this article. Basically these girls belongs to Lahore. Both girls study in a private college in Lahore. Its true “Jinhen Lahore nain whekhya oh jamya nahin”, in English, “One who has not visited Lahore, is not born”.

Islamabad is the capital city of Pakistan , and is located in the Potohar Plateau in the northwest of the country. It is located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , though the area has historically been a part of the crossroads of the Punjab region and the North-West Frontier Province. Islamabad is located at 33°40′N, 73°10′E . The city was built during the 1960s to replace Karachi as Pakistan ‘s capital . Islamabad is a rather modern and clean city, especially in comparison to other cities in Pakistan. A Greek firm of architects, Doxiadis Associates, drew up a master plan, triangular in shape based on a grid system with its apex towards the Margalla Hills . Rawalpindi is considered its sister city due to the close proximity of the two cities.

This city was built for several reasons: The development of the country was focused on Karachi and President Ayub Khan wanted it to be equally distributed; Karachi was vulnerable to attack from the sea in an event of a war with India; and Islamabad by contrast is safely surrounded by the mountains. The climate in Islamabad is favourable compared to Karachi with lower average temperatures throughout the year. It was also closer to the GHQ which was, and still is in Rawalpindi.
Islamabad was divided into eight zones: the diplomatic enclave, the commercial district, the educational sector, the industrial area and so on, each with its own shopping area and park. Islamabad is also home to the Faisal Mosque which is well known for its architecture and immense size. The mosque was gifted by King Faisal of Saudi Arabia .

About Author:

Shehzina is an MBA student in Bahria University. She has interests ranging from design to travel. She is also an avid photographer and want to share more of her creative work.

Sargodha is a district of Punjab province, Pakistan. It is an agricultural district, wheat, rice, and sugarcane being its main crops. The Sargodha district and region are also famous for citrus fruit; kino is a newly developed variety. The district has an area of 5,864 km. Sargodha city, was founded in the year 1903 by Sir Malcolm Hailey, who afterwards became the Governor of the Punjab. The name Sargodha consists of two words, namely; ‘Sar’ and ‘Godha’, Sar, means pond or pool and Godha was the name of a Hindu hermit (jogi). Being the District headquarters since 1940, Sargodha was upgraded to the status of Divisional Headquarters in the year 1960.

The District has loamy soil and is favourable for the flora of varied types. The indigenous species of flora are as follows:

1. Trees: Kikar, Shisham, Jand, Wann, Karir, Ber, Malla, Lasuri, Lasura.
2. Shrubs: Ak, Jawain, Sarkanda, Gondi, Harmal.
3. Herbs: Pohli, Kandiari, Bathu, Bhakra, Lani Salooni Booti, Dahh, Murak.

About  Author:

Aneela with her class fellows has submitted this article from Sargodha.

Welcoming start of MA Seraiki classes at the Bahauddin Zakariya University, literary circles urged its vice chancellor to appoint a person fluent in spoken and written Seraiki with a grip on its literature as head of the department. Bahauddin Zakariya Univeristy (BZU) in Multan is going to begin full-fledged MA Seraiki classes.  Seraiki is an ancient language with a prestigious intellectual history and a rich literature, especially poetry. As with most regional languages in Pakistan, we have not done full justice in nourishing this heritage. There is also much resentment in the greater Seraik-speaking area (which includes Southern Punjab, and parts of upper Sindh and Eastern Baluchistan) and a sense of injustice about how this region and its heritage has been treated, especially by Lahore-centric Northern Punjab (by way of disclosure, I should say I myself am from Northern Punjab).

As such, the decision is not just appropriate but politically significant. According to a news story in The News (26 June, 2006), however, it could soon turn controversial. Reportedly, there are “speculations circling in [Multan] that a person who neither speaks, reads nor writes Seraiki is being made the head of the department.” In response, an open letter has been sent to the BZU vice chancellor Prof Dr Naseer Ahmed Khan. The letter’s tone signifies deep distrust and apprehension and does not have the sweetness one usually associates with the Seraiki language:

About Author:

Sara Kiani is a social sciences student in Bahauddin Zkariya Universty Multan. She is finalizing her masters and want to start her career as a freelance writer.

Shalwar kameez  is a dress that is popularly worn by people of the Pakistan. However, more recently this dress has also become quite popular in western countries, especially in the UK and USA. Shalwar Kameez is a two piece dress suit. The top piece, called the “kameez” is similar to a long blouse that usually extends upto the knees. Kameez is available in both long sleeves as well as in short sleeves. This suit is also popularly worn by ladies looking for Islamic clothing !
There are so many styles  in our Shalwar Kameez (including Kurta, Kurti, Tunics and more).

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Shazia in black shalwar kameez has recently emailed us from Islamabad. She is student of fashion designing. These girls look awesome in shalwar kameez!