Pakistan Local Custom Tips by Faiza-Ifrah

Thousands of kite lovers celebrate the famous and traditional Bassant Festival in Lahore by flying kites, battling kites in the skies for air superiority, wearing colorful clothes, arranging parties and musical shows.

Public parks and rooftops get crowded with revellers. Hundreds of thousands of kites make it to the air and people use their expertise with threads and moves to cut others' strings. Each time a kite is cut, the winners' party goes wild.

The bassant marks the beginning of the month long Jashan-e-Baharan (Spring Festival) in Lahore that includes Horse and Cattle show, cultural shows, sports events, fruites and flowers exhibitions, music shows and lots of related entertainment.

Thousands of visitors from within the country and abroad reach Lahore to celebrate the function.

In the pictures, young Pakistani women dance to the beat of a drum during the colourful spring festival locally known as 'bassant' in Lahore (courtesy: Arif Ali, AFP) and the colorful kites await customers (courtesy: Arif Ali, AFP).

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Pakistan is a moderate Islamic country. Although veil is not an absolute requirement and the women may even wear jeans and T-shirts in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi-Islamabad, it is much preferable that they should properly cover their bodies by wearing loose clothings. It is proper to cover head with some kind of sash, sleeves should cover the elbows and legs should not be exposed above ankles. Also they should not travel alone, as it is considered immodest. Men should also cover their bodies properly and should only address and talk to men. Also they should never try to photograph local women and even girls. In case of queues, seating and other service matters, women have the first right. At shops during haggling, women may be able to break the ice so let women take the lead here. The picture of our entourage during an off-town adventure shows an acceptable range of attire for women, with some of us wearing black color robes and head scarfs in line with the traditions of conservative NWFP and Balochistan provinces. Also note that men, heavily outnumbred, are present in the entourage.

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