Surprise of the 4th of July Festival

By Rana Fawad WASHINGTON: American lifestyle is admired and adopted by many in developing countries like India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. And many complain their culture is being taken over in this information age. But they can cheer up a little bit. Charpoy is making its presence felt in Washington D.C. Chaarpai (a four-legged traditional bed) was part of the 4th of July celebration as the organizers used it on the National Mall. Also called manja/manji in Punjabi, it was not for public display during the 233rd anniversary celebration of the United States of America’s independence. Rather, several of those traditional beds were put next to chairs and tables in the rest area reserved for the officials and volunteers. In 2008, charpoy was sighted during Pakistan embassy’s Open House organized in collaboration with the D.C. Cultural Tourism. A lot of visitors had shown interest in those beds along with colorful round pillows (see pictures). Charpoy (as the British would call it) is an integral part of rural culture in Pakistan and India. It is made of a wooden frame and woven rope. Usually, no mattress is laid out on charpoy but traditional pillows (square or round) are added for comfort of the user. It is interesting to note that when people move up the social ladder in that part of the world, many replace charpoy with modern beds or chairs. Is it going to have higher approval rating in South Asia if it is adopted in Washington D.C.? You never know. After all we are living in a global village where information reaches across boundaries pretty fast. (Photos by the author)