SPARC

Multan retains in many respects the historic form of the medieval city — the towering citadel of Multan known as Qillah Kohna Qasim Bagh with its noble monuments sheltering the dense and compact walled city shrines and bazaars below. Its history goes back to pre Islamic and possibly to that of Indus valley civilisation and even beyond.

The history of Multani arts and crafts also goes back to medieval period. Kashi work the glazing and hand painting of ceramic products is an important art for which Multan is famous all over the would. The use of foliage or branches and leaves of trees and superb richness of colours (mainly blue) in Kashi work is a evidence of Persian influence. As Persian arts themselves have been under Chinese Mongol influence, there fore some historians are of the view that Kashi work had originally come from Kashghar, China. Over a period of centuries Multani Kashi work has matured and developed a unique and distinctive style of its own.


The art has survived for centuries through generations as its trade secrets like composition of colours were zealously guarded by a handful of artist and their families. Artists like Ustad Allah Waaya, Ustad Allah Diaya, Aziz Ahmand and Mian Rahim Bux were great Kahigar in their times and have left lasting work in the field. Their work ahs lent an immortality to the art.

In 1985, Punjab small industries corporation established an Institute of Blue Pottery Development to save the art from extinction. It further aimed at providing training advisory technical and processing facilities to the private sector in carrying out research and development in the hereditary art of Multan. The institute has trained many artist and developed over 400 designs of pottery and decoration ware. The Institute produces pieces that are sold in the market. Some new ceramic units have been set p in Multan through advisory service and technical assistance of the institute.

In 1853,during a limited excavation on Qillah Kohna Qasim Bagh, Alexander Cunningham found glazed tiles made in Multan in about 900 A. These tiles had been used in the mosque built by Muhammad Bin Qasim on his arrival in Multan. The highest quality Multani tiles have been used in shrines, mosques and other important buildings including house ever since. The shrines of Shah Yousaf Gardezi (1153), Shah Rukne Alam, Ali Akbar, mosque Nawaban, Shrines of Uchh Sharif in Cholistan and Talpuir tombs in Sindh are classic examples of tile work. Kashi work on the walls of shrine of Hazrat Haqani, Sawi Mosque, Shrines of Abdul Latif, and Sachal Sarmast (Sindh) Eidgah Multan and Lahore museum is very distinctive and of a fine quality. Lately Akhtar Abbas Bharwana (ex minister Punjab) has used the tiles from Multan at his house in Jhang. A contemporary artist Ustad Muhammad Alam has executed Kashi work in the house of late actor Sultan Rahi in Lahore.

Blue pottery of Multan is at display in prestigious presidents house, prime ministers secretariat, culture missions of Pakistan in different countries and British Museum London.” Foreign tourists and private collectors love to buy vases vessels planters, cookie jars and table lamps with hand painted in designs like China Kashi, Special Kashi and Bamboo Shoot. World Bank team has also visited the Institute and shown keen interest in the conservation and development of the art.

Paradoxically, local patrons are not very attracted to these products. “Tea set costing rupees 1200/ does not find very many buyers in the local market,” says Hassan Khan, a shopkeeper who sells the ware.

The process of making blue pottery and tiles has undergone many changes with the development in technology. Gas furnaces with controllable and uniform temperature are being used for biscuit firings and glazing instead of wood and dung cake fire. Clay is being procured from Manshera (NWFP), Tharparker (Sindh) and Gujrat instead of local red clay. ” Baking of raw material as per the formula, grinding, kneading, filtration, moulding, biscuit firing at the temperature of 800-850 degree centigrade, Kashi work and glazing at the temperature of 1200 centigrade are all necessary steps in the process,” explained one young artist Muhammad Irfan wile showing everything being done at his concern by 20 ceramists and 15 Kashi artist and their students. “The special blue colour prepared from cobalt oxide and copper oxide is a special technique and distinctive feature of the Kashi work,” he says. The art has evolved into a far more sophisticated process today.

Artist Muhammad Alam who along with his sons is associated with the Kashi work on has represented Pakistan in world crafts council under SAARC program. He has trained over 40 students out of which some are working abroad. “I am working on new designs development and expansion of the noble art. But my work has not been recognized yet.” Muhammad Alam complains a little wistfully. “Besides I don’t have enough money, ” he adds.

Among the various arts that are practiced in Pakistan, Multani Kashi work has attained a higher state of refinement. There is always a room to bring into the art new innovations, endow it with fresh spirit and set the science as its guide. Assistance can be sought from international agencies like UNESCO and the World Bank. The range of possibilities in the field of ceramics is very vast. The whole world can be our market.

Owais Mughal

This post is about alternative, cheaper and earthquake resistant housing for Pakistan. At ATP we’ve covered alternative building styles before when S A J Shirazi wrote about using mud to build homes. A couple of my friends recently pointed out to me an earthquake resistant straw bale housing style that was practised in Pakistan (and also other countries) after the devastating earthquake of 2005. This project was started in Pakistan by a non-profit group called Pakistan Straw Bale and Appropriate building (PAKSBAB). In the aftermath of 2005 earthquake of Pakistan PAKSBAB built these houses for poor by using straw, an agricultural by-product, compressed and tied into bales, as building blocks.

Following photo shows a straw-bale house under construction in Pakistan in the aftermath of 2005 earthquake. Photo credits: PAKSBAB.

This technique makes the structures earthquake resistant. The project’s founder is Darcey Dononvan who is a mechanical engineer by profession. The reason for us sharing this post here is to provide food for thought for alternate housing styles in earthquake zones - and Pakistan has quite a few of them. I also want to thank PAKSBAB for carrying out this project in Pakistan.

I found following video by University of Nevada, Reno at youtube where Darcey is explaining her project in Pakistan as well as it shows the results of earthquake simulation.

February 5, 2010’s Science Magazine also mentioned this project. An excerpt from there goes like this:

References:

1. Pakistan Straw Bale and Appropriate Building (PAKSBAB)

2. Science Magazine

3. University of Nevada, Reno - Earthquake Engineering Simulation

Pests of all kinds can attack homes at almost any time of the year. Generally, when temperatures rise, most of the pests perk up. As the weather changes and it becomes warmer, pests’ metabolism increases and they are more active.

Pests that are found in and around houses can be divided in different categories: wood destroying pests (like termites), food, fabric, and nuisance pests (ants, flies), food storage pests (fungus), pests that sting, bite, or injure (bees, mosquitoes), vertebrate pests (house mouse, lizards) and many more. All of them create problems.

Worst of all house pests, termites are temperature dependent. Termites initially are just a mild nuisance, but if they are not controlled at early stage they can be destructive. Of about 2000 known species of termite, most commonly found in this part of the world are known as white ants that damage wooden items such as furniture or house structures.

In summers, termites can wreak havoc in homes. Termite can start their damaging activities in warmer parts of the houses even in winters as well. And here is the rub: They are hard to find even when they are digesting sub flooring or tunneling through walls of any home. And when the columns of tiny ants are seen marching across walls, the damage might have already been done.

How to find these home wreckers? Walk your home's perimeter regularly, and look for hanging zigzag mud tunnels on the walls. Termites build these for covert, humid access to wood. Also look for broken off wings and sandy, wood colored termite droppings.

Once termite colony (yes they live in their own colonies) is suspected, it is better to get help for professional termite extermination. But there are so many simple things that can be done by owners to prevent termites or at least lessen the possibility of getting termites. Preventative measures include making sure the wooden parts of houses have no direct contact with the ground. This means keeping walls free of dirt piles, not letting trellises or plants grow from the ground to the siding, and not stacking wood against the house. Even thick wood mulch can provide cover for termites. Also keeping moisture away from the foundation and immediately repairing all types of leaks around structural wood is useful. Paying particular attention to wooden decks and stairs, and areas where the structure rests on the foundation walls, and especially in crawl spaces or any area with an earthen floor also helps detect the attack.

Earlier, building owners and construction people concerned about termite control should start at the planning stage. The first thing to consider is the type of foundation a building is going to stand on or will be resting on - some of the foundation types have more potential for termite problems than others. Other factors to consider are timing of treatment (pre-construction or post-construction), type of treatment (liquid or feeding stations) and good building management practices.

Beside termites, cockroaches are the hardiest (and for some the scariest) of all the house summer pests. Cockroaches are active in the night mostly. If one spots any in the daytime in kitchen or bathrooms, it means the house is infested with cockroaches.

Cockroaches damage the health of the family member by spreading microorganisms. Cleanliness and good sanitation in homes can reduce their menace. To prevent cockroaches from entering the house, seal all the gaps that can allow them access to your home from outside. Do not leave anything that it can feed on in the open. This is a difficult task as they eat almost anything and everything.

Black ants that commonly infest the houses are the smaller variety often called sugar ants. These ants eat sweets and oil and normally infest the kitchen. To prevent them from attacking your kitchen keep all the food in containers, clean the counter tops at regular intervals and empty the garbage cans frequently. The best way to eliminate these ants is to eliminate any source of their food.

Bees (yellow or black locally called demoon) are also common in summers. These flying insects have a nasty sting that causes swelling and pain and even can land anyone in hospital if attacked by more bees.

House flies and mosquitoes are also damaging and swarm more in summers. House flies not only rate high as a nuisance, but are a constant threat to health by carrying disease organisms from filthy habitats to contaminate food. Flies may carry bacteria on their bodies which can then be transferred to food. They breed in garbage, grass clippings and in other decomposing plant and animal matter. Maintain trash containers with tight-fitting lids and regularly clean up dog feces in the yard. Keep doors and windows closed unless equipped with tight-fitting screens. Different repellent and electric mosquito and housefly terminators are also available in market.

All season pests like rats and cecak (wall lizards locally known as chapkalli) scuttle about in dirty places and can track filth in if you do not block their access into your living environment. Rats not only spread disease, but are also a nuisance as they like to chew through doors, window screens, cables on appliances and computers, electric cables in your attic and even cars where the seats become their nest. Cecak are actually quite helpful creatures as they consume mosquitoes, house flies and some other pests that live in homes but most people do not like them scurrying about the walls and ceilings of their home.

People use different types of chemical substances or mixture of substances to destroy, repel and mitigate the house pests. Indiscriminate use of chemical substances can also be an environmental problem or out rightly dangerous for children (remember incidents when kids have been reported to eat up poisonous pills kept for killing house rates (chohe mar golian). Therefore, utmost care has to be exercised while using any chemical substance at home.

All the home pest insects cause damage in one form or the other in every season. There presence is a nuisance at best and destructive for material and unhealthy for human at worst. They look ugly and make the environment is homes unhygienic and unaesthetic. Inspecting house carefully and looking for telltale signs of infestation at all times and terminating them before any damage is the best strategy. Precautionary measures should be taken anyway. If there is an infestation that can not be dealt with personally, one should never take it lightly and professional pest controller help should be sought immediately.

And there are other type of ‘pests’ that can not be controlled what to talk of termination. Unwelcome guests and or in-laws can come in home anytime with full clams. What to do when these pests invade your home? Over to you. Tell me?

Tags: Home Pests, Summer, Weather

Who knew the Stoneage would make a roaring comeback? Have a look at  this amazing stone house exterior, tucked in a peaceful pastoral setting in Nas Montanhas de Fafe, Portugal. This hillside house boasts unobstructed, untarnished views of the grass-covered mountain and valley. This unusual structure isn’t your typical house, featuring an irregular exterior, but some traditional “house” elements were incorporated – namely, its charming windows and a shingled roof that stands out among these seemingly untouched, natural surroundings.

It is cramped, draughty and unlikely to win any design awards. But, according to archaeologists, this wooden hut is one of the most important buildings ever created in Britain.

The newly discovered circular structure – as shown in our artist’s impression – is the country’s oldest known home.

Built more than 6,000 years before Stonehenge, it provided shelter from the icy winds and storms that battered the nomadic hunters roaming Britain at the end of the last ice age.

The remains of the 11ft-wide building, discovered near Scarborough, North Yorkshire, have been dated to at least 8,500BC. It stood next to an ancient lake and close to the remains of a wooden quayside.

Dr Chantal Conneller, from the University of Manchester, said it was between 500 and 1,000 years older than the previous record holder, a building found at Howick, Northumberland.

‘This changes our ideas of the lives of the first settlers to move back into Britain after the end of the last ice age,’ she said. ‘We used to think they moved around a lot and left little evidence.

‘Now we know they built large structures and were very attached to particular places in the landscape.’

None of the wood used to make the building has survived. Instead, archaeologists found the tell-tale signs of 18 timber posts, arranged in a circle. The centre of the structure had been hollowed out and filled with organic material.

The researchers believe the floor was once carpeted with a layer of reeds, moss or grasses and that there may have been a fireplace.

Dr Conneller said the hut was used for at least 200 to 500 years – and may have been abandoned for long stretches.

‘We don’t know much about it and we don’t know what it was used for,’ she said. ‘It might have been a domestic structure, although you could only fit three or four people in it. It could have been a form of ritual structure because there is evidence of ritual activity on the site.’

Previous archaeological digs have unearthed head-dresses made from deer skulls close to the hut, along with remains of flints, the paddle of a boat, antler tools, fish hooks and beads.

The researchers also found a large wooden platform alongside the ancient – and long vanished – lake at Star Carr. It was made from timbers which were split and hewn.

The platform, which may have been a quay, is the earliest evidence of carpentry in Europe. At the time, Britain was connected to the rest of Europe. The occupiers of the hut were nomads who migrated from an area now under the North Sea to hunt deer, wild boar, elk and wild cattle.

Dr Nicky Milner, from the University of York, said: ‘This is a sensational discovery and tells us so much about the people who lived at this time.

‘From this excavation, we gain a vivid picture of how these people lived. For example, it looks like the house may have been rebuilt at various stages.

The ancient Star Carr site is located not far from the Yorkshire town of Scarborough

‘It is also likely there was more than one house and lots of people lived here. And the artefacts of antler, particularly the antler headdresses, are intriguing, as they suggest ritual activities.’

Although Britain had been visited by hunter-gatherers for hundreds of thousands of years, it was only at the end of the last ice age, when the glaciers finally retreated from Scotland, that the country became permanently occupied.

Thousands of miles away, in the ‘Fertile Crescent’ of Mesopotamia, the earliest farmers were learning how to sow seeds and domesticate animals in a discovery that would transform the world – and herald the age of villages, writing and civilisation.

But in northern Europe, the hunter-gatherer way of life that had served prehistoric man for millennia remained unchallenged. Via