You’ll be aware of one of the absorbing features of Pakistan; the fascinating and captivating handicrafts. The marvelous artisanship is the most renowned cultural identification of Pakistan. The handicrafts making tradition is thousands of years old Pakistani custom which is evident from the ancient excavations of Indus Valley, Harappa and Mohen-jo-Daro civilizations.

The handicrafts of Pakistan are particularly famous for the enchanting embellishment, attractive colors and bewitching textures. There is an ethnic division of the handicrafts making as many regions of Pakistan have their own individual handicrafts heritage.

Pakistani artisans are very brilliant and genius in their skill. Whether it is embroidery, weaving, printing or designing, they are master in every quality.

A busy artisan in his work from Sindh - By Iqbal Khatri

The traditional decorative goods have remained a phenomenal ingredient of the Northern Pakistan.

Decorative items of the Northern Pakistan - Image by Pasvic Surgeon

The handmade wooden pottery especially bowls and carves are the distinctive parts of the heritage of Hunza.

Exotic wooden crafts from Hunza - Image : Saad Rashid

Sillanwali is a small town located in the Sargodha district of Pakistan which is particularly famous for its woodwork handicrafts, which are largely exported to other cities, provinces and even to other countries.

Handmade woodcraft from Sillanwali - Image: Amir Taj

A handwoven utensil is very popular not only in the rural but also in the urban areas of Sindh and Punjab in Pakistan. This is used for keeping Chapati ( Bread ) and commonly known as Chaba.

A handwoven utensil " Chaba" - Image courtesy : wikipedia

The traditional penny banks or money boxes made of clay have still not lost their popularity among Pakistani kids.

The traditional penny banks - Saidpur Model Village - Photo: Faisal Saeed

The traditional wooden bags are also very mesmerizing for their tremendous art work.

A classical handmade wooden bag of Pakistan - Armughan Javaid

The handmade Khussa shoes is the cultural footwear of Pakistan, which are made with fine leather and decorated with golden and silver threads, beads and sequins on traditional motifs.

The handmade Khussa shoes - Image by Amir Taj

Multan is also famous for the exotic handicrafts made with camel bones. Camel bone is considered as along lasting material for making amazing handicrafts and articles for decoration.

A busy camel bone handicrafts man - Photo: Ammar Chaudhry

Some clay pots are amazingly decorated with fantastic mirror work in Multan and the Southern Punjab.

Mirror crafting art of Multan - Image : Javaria&Khadeeja

Who can deny the beauty of the superb and handmade patchwork art of Sindh?

The handmade Sindhi patchwork art - Photo: Zahid Ali Khan

The hand knotted carpets and oriental rugs of Pakistan are world famous and magnificent in their character.

A fantastic handknotted carpet from Pakistan - Photo: Ted Swedenbur

The people of Sindh love their traditional hand woven buckets and door chimes.

The alluring handmade door chimes of Sindh, Pakistan - Image: go2net

The traditional handmade buckets from Thatta - Image: S M Rafiq

No doubt, the fascinating and captivating Pakistani handicrafts are the integrated features of the Pakistani cultural heritage.

Multan is the famous city of the Southern Punjab in Pakistan. One of the most glorious and historic monument of Multan is the tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam which was constructed around 14^th century.  This mausoleum is visible from miles due to its magnificent tomb. Shah Rukn-e-Alam was a renowned sufi saint of the Indian Sub Continent who was the son of Pir Sadar-Al-Din Arif. He was born at Multan on Friday, 26^th November 1251. Shah Rukn-e-Alam was the grandson and the successor of Shaikh Baha-u-Din Zakariya.

The Tomb of Shah Rukn e Alam ( Image : Khalil-ur-Rehman Waleed )

The tomb or the Mausoleum is an octagon structure 51 feet 9 inches in diameter internally, with walls 41 feet 4 inches high and 13 feet 3 inches thick, supported at the angles by sloping towers. Over this is a smaller octagon 25 feet 8 inches, on the exterior side, and 26 feet 10 inches high, leaving a narrow passage all round the top of the lower storey for the Moazzan, or public caller to prayers. The whole is surmounted by a hemispherical dome of 58 feet external diameter. The total height of the building, including a plinth of 3 feet, is 100 feet. As it stands on the high ground, the total height above the road level is 150 feet. Later, the interior was decorated by the brickwork done by the Kashigars of Multan.

The Tomb of Shah Rukne Alam: A close up view by Nazir Ahmad Shah

According to the historians, the tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam, Multan was built by Ghias-u-Din Tughlaq and since then this fabulous tomb attracts hundreds of thousands of pilgrims every year.

Ajrak the traditional attire from Sindh , Pakistan  is the idiosyncratic cloth used by the locals of Sindh and Southern Punjab as symbol of grace and high esteem. Males use it as turban and Shawl while women use as their Chaddar and Dubatta. It is normally colored with indigo , crimson , white and black patterns.

Ajrak , the traditional attire from Sindh, Pakistan , Photo Credit : Asif Hassan

The handmade printing process of Ajrak is called resist printing. Carved wooden blocks are used for this process which is really a challenging job as all of this has to be harmonized  perfectly on the cloth. The making of these blocks is quite arithmetic jobs as all the graphs are drawn with geometric tools. The carving of the blocks is also very technical and skillful task. Normally the craftsmen waste the blocks after accomplishment with the patterns. The use of Ajrak is a continued tradition of Sindh for thousands of years. It is traced from the ancient Indus civilization. The world famous statue of the King Priest discovered at Mohenjo-Daro exhibits a shawl display around his shoulders. It is decorated with a threefold pattern  intermixed with tiny circles, that are colored inside with red shades. A similar artifact has also been discovered in Mesopotamian remains. The same threefold pattern usage is found in the present Ajrak.

Ajrak the traditional attire from Sindh, Pakistan is made in almost all cities of  Sindh. Its usage can be observed in all segments of Sindhi society. It is a prestigious gift often presented to the guests in their honor. The locals also wear Ajrak on mirthful events such as weddings and cultural programs.