“Khoj” Vol. 90, January-June.
2023 1
LAUNCH OF PUNJABI WEBSITE “CULTURE OF PUNJAB PAKISTAN (COPP)
PROMOTING PUNJABI CULTURE THROUGH SEMINAR AND EXHIBITION –
A PROJECT OF INSTITUTE OF PUNJABI AND CULTURAL STUDIES,
UNIVERSITY OF THE PUNJAB, LAHORE
COMPREHENSIVE EXAM
BY
UMAIMA MOHSIN
SESSION 2022- ONWARDS
TO
DR AQSA REHAN
RESEARCH CENTER OF ART AND DESIGN,
LAHORE COLLEGE FOR WOMEN UNIVERSITY,
LAHORE
“Khoj” Vol. 90, January-June. 2023 2
“Khoj” Vol. 90, January-June. 2023 3
Umaima Mohsin1:
Humna Qais 2:
Launch of Punjabi Website “Culture of Punjab Pakistan
(CoPP) Promoting Punjabi Culture through Seminar and
Exhibition – A Project of Institute of Punjabi and
Cultural Studies, University of the Punjab, Lahore
Abstract
World is known as a global village and people are investing
in this digital world not only in fields of science but in fields
of arts to spread their cultures worldwide virtually and
mark their presence. Pakistan being a culturally rich
country with different cultures like Pashtun, Balochi, Sindhi
from which Punjabi culture is one of them. Due to high
influence of western culture, Punjabi culture is losing its
essence. An over view of cultural websites was done which
led to realize that many other countries have invested and
secured their cultural aspects but there is no source to find
Punjabi cultural data under one roof. This research was
done to create a platform that can endorse Punjabi culture
of Pakistan securing our Punjabi culture which is not far
from being included in the forgotten culture’s list by
launching a website under the patronage of Institute of
Punjabi and Cultural Studies, University of The Punjab,
Lahore, Pakistan. A website where most of the Punjabi data
will be compiled and will be available for the researchers
and future generations.
Keywords: Website, Digital World, Cultural Aspects,
Research, Endorse Punjabi Culture.
Introduction
Culture refers to the features of a group of people well-
defined by language, religion, values, norms, cuisine, social habits,
“Khoj” Vol. 90, January-June. 2023 4
and arts. It plays an integral role in the development of a cultural
outlook of a particular country. A country may comprise of one or
several cultures which combine together to form a unified nation.
It enhances the quality of life at individual and communal level.
Like every country, Pakistan is a country which exhibits
different cultures i.e., Punjabi, Sindhi, Balochi, Pashtun and
Kashmiri. Punjabi Culture is known to be one of the oldest and
richest culture in world history, from ancient times to the present
time which is still practiced in India as well. Sikhs in India these
days practice the Punjabi culture and in Pakistan it is followed in
the province of Punjab. The scope, history, complexity and density
of the culture is vast. Punjabi culture comprises of the following:
Punjabi cuisine, philosophy, poetry, artistry, music, architecture,
traditions and history. All these cultural aspects are important but
people are considering them as secondary.
A greater percentage of Pakistan’s population comprises of
Punjabis i.e., 52.6%, still people are not cognizant of the
importance of culture. They have forgotten the cultural values as
the youth is now influenced by the western culture. They have
started to adopt values and norms from western side and are
considering their own Pakistani culture as simple “boring”. They
have adopted customs, language, traditions, and morals which
prevail in the west.
The domain of “preservation of Punjabi culture” is the
main focus of this research. It is reported in “The Importance of
Culture Throughout All of Life and Beyond” by Thomas Norma
(2001) that culture is like a spine of a country which holds an
image of a country globally. Culture of any country is a
representation of society and their language, religion and rules and
rituals. The writer compares the cultural values between Africans
and Americans to have an analysis of mutual cultural values of
both places along with the effects of culture maintenance on
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economy and lifestyle.1
Pakistani culture is one of the well-known cultures in the
world. M. Sher Juni (2014) in “Impact of Global Media on the
Culture of Pakistan: A Case Study of Youth of Layyah City”
concluded that young generation of Pakistan is extremely
motivated and impressed by the foreign media. In the present time,
youth has mixed our national culture with the foreign culture but
has failed to preserve our local cultural values and heritage of
Pakistan. As compared to foreigners, we as a nation lack the
element of ownership for our culture. People abroad have saved
and displayed their heritage and cultural items in museums and on
websites to preserve their culture for the development of the
country.2
Literature has reported various studies for the preservation
and maintenance of cultures of a particular place. In case of culture
prevalence, Anil Singh (2012) “Digital preservation of cultural
heritage resources and manuscripts” reported the significance of
the culture. They have mentioned about the benefits (economical) a
country could have. It is mentioned about preserving the Indian
culture and proposed the idea to promote their culture worldwide
with the help of advancement of technology in present time (by
compiling and giving access worldwide through website) which
will result in better image formation of Indian culture across the
world and will benefit the Indian economy. This research also
reports about the initiatives for preservation of cultural heritage,
resources, and manuscripts that Indian government has already
1
Thomas Norma, “The Importance of Culture Throughout All of Life and Beyond,”
Holistic Nursing Practice, Issue 2 (January 2001): 40-46,
https://journals.lww.com/hnpjournal/Abstract/2001/01000/The_Importance_of_Culture_t
hroughout_All_of_Life.7.aspx
2
M Sher Juni, “Impacts of Global Media on the Culture of Pakistan: A Case Study of
Youth of Layyah City,” Vol 8, No. 3 (September 2014): 1008-1014,
https://www.proquest.com/openview/1bf20cdee3414c92413832c98c092b18/1?pq-
origsite=gscholar&cbl=2031961
“Khoj” Vol. 90, January-June. 2023 6
taken steps for.3
It is a responsibility of government to maintain the cultural
values of their country and to promote it so that it lasts long.
Gurpreet Singh Sohal (2012) in “Digitization preserves Punjab
region’s Heritage and Culture” discussed that present generation
lacks the enthusiasm to preserve the culture and heritage. Sohal
mentioned the presence of digital library to preserve the regions
culture and heritage of both India and Pakistan. Targeted regions
of the research were Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and
specific areas of Rajasthan and Western Punjab which is now in
Pakistan. He claimed that Punjab Digital Library (PDL) which
through a website gathers literature from two main sources i.e.,
villages and educational institutes but people from rural areas by
far have preserved cultural values and literature in a better way
than educational institutes. And to date PDL has digitized more
than 6.5 million items from which some are more than 300 years
old. (Including manuscripts, maps, magazines etc.) Writer said that
the presence of E-Library plays an important role to spread and to
preserve the Punjabi cultures and heritage of both India and
Pakistan. Sources like PDL provides most of the literature on one
platform, this proves, that Punjabi Culture (west Pakistan) needs to
be gathered on one platform so it could restore the original essence
of Punjabi traditions and customs and also to spread our Punjabi
culture.4
Discussion of Punjabi culture is incomplete without the
references of Baba Bulhe Shah. Naeem Dilpul (2016) reported in
“Critical Discourse Analysis of Bulhe Shah’s and Masts’s poetry”
3
Anil Singh, “Digital preservation of cultural heritage resources and manuscripts”
Volume 38, no. 4 (2012): 289-296,
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0340035212463139
4
Gurpreet Singh Sohal, “Digitisation preserves Punjab region’s Heritage and Culture,”
Last modified August 2012,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230758213_Digitisation_preserves_Punjab_reg
ion's_Heritage_and_Culture
“Khoj” Vol. 90, January-June. 2023 7
The writer mentioned about the attempts to capture the essence of
two Sufi poets hailing from divergent origins. Studies exhibit that
the beauty of Baba Bulhe Shah’s Qalam has led many people to
feel the element of Sufism. The writer reported about the books
(secondary sources) that were studied for the analysis of the poetry
and mentioned that these art pieces that represent our culture
should be secured and compiled on one platform as in the present
time there is a lack of culture preservation. The writer in his say
promotes the idea of preserving the Sufi poetry of Baba Bulleh
Shah and Mast like on digital platforms.5
This lack of culture preservation is growing and affecting
tourism as well. Regarding this aspect Anem Syed (2017) stated in
“Preserving South Asian Cultural Heritage through Animated
Storytelling” that people specifically youth is less inclined towards
culture because of lack of ownership. Education sectors have failed
to guide children to protect their culture or to even respect it. She
also described that the world is getting digitized in the present time
and for her thesis project, she decided to re-create and preserve one
of the oldest folk stories نہ مالthrough an animation project
with the mindset that people can watch it easily and have an access
to it on a digital platform. Her point of view of launching it
digitally was because people are living in digital world. She
proposed that this project can be displayed on any Punjabi cultural
website so that people could watch this animated short film easily
and to preserve our such cultural aspects. This supports the
argument that there is a need to launch digital platforms for
preserving the Punjabi cultural heritage.6
5
Naeem Dilpul, “Critical Discourse Analysis of Bulhe Shah’s and Mast’s poetry,” Vol. 2,
Issue 1, (March 2016): Pages 8.
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3820499#
6
Anem Syed, “Preserving South Asian Cultural Heritage through Animated
Storytelling,” (2017),
https://www.proquest.com/openview/343b5093f84b0d6f22aa45d0b82d5852/1?pq-
“Khoj” Vol. 90, January-June. 2023 8
As discussed in the previous reference, digital platforms
will be helpful in preserving and reviving our traditional
handicrafts without which our culture is incomplete. Prabhjot Kaur
(2011) emphasized the importance of traditional handicraft
especially Phulkari in “Revival of Punjab’s Traditional Handicraft:
Phulkari”. She concluded that handicrafts are showcases of our
culture that proves its richness and artistic history of the nation.
She mentioned that phulkari has been under a severe threat of
extinction and major cause of this issue is lack of knowledge and
misuse of the craftsperson by middlemen. She suggested that these
cultural aspects that are so rich culture and data of famous
craftsmen must be preserved to let our coming generations learn
about the values and cultural importance.7
Other than to educate people, it is important to spread
knowledge amongst children at all educational levels as they are
the buildings blocks of the next generation. Dina Ahmed Ismaeel
and Ahlam Mohammed Al- Abdullatif (2016) in “Impact of an
Interactive Virtual Museum on Students’ Attitudes Toward
Cultural Heritage Education in the Region of Al Hassa, Saudi
Arabia” mentioned that the students in Al Hassa, Saudi Arabia
showed their interest about the existence of a virtual museum and
this study showed that such virtual museums can be a great source
of information and knowledge for people. Ismaeel and Abdullatif
also mentioned that there should be a platform like virtual museum
to preserve our culture for a better learning and ease of witnessing
cultural beauty digitally to overcome the lack of interest towards
culture and heritage. The idea according to the writers convey to
preserve the culture on digital platforms, supports the initiative to
origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750
7
Prabhjot Kaur, “Revival of Punjab’s Traditional Handicraft: Phulkari,” Last modified
January 2011,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303844447_Revival_of_Punjab's_Traditional_
Handicraft_Phulkari
“Khoj” Vol. 90, January-June. 2023 9
design a website of only culture that could help people learn and
gather material regarding their interests in different aspects of
culture of a country.8
As mentioned in the above reference, it is claimed that a
specific platform should be made for preserving the culture for
which virtual museums and websites are the suitable solution for
this. T.P. Kersten, F. Tschirschwitz, S. Deggim (2017) wrote in
“Development of a Virtual Museum Including a 4D Presentation
of Building History in Virtual Reality” that website as a medium to
promote this museum was a suitable medium, which is beneficial
to keep data saved. They mentioned that a virtual museum has two
uses, one it helps to enhance an experience of a visitor and second,
it can be used as a teaching material in terms of museum education.
They mentioned in the journal about the website and plan of a
virtual museum Old-Segeberg town house as a case study and
shared some visuals of the virtual museum digitally.9
According to another reference, Satyendra Kumar Mishra
and Satyaki Roy (2017), in “A Story of Languishing Doll: Revival
of Cloth Dolls of India” reported the effects of industrialization on
culture. The domain of the research is based on the extinction of
cloth dolls that carries the value Punjabi culture. He claimed that
making dolls was one of the major sources of earning for
craftsman in 1950’s. Kumar Mishra and Roy mentioned the
reasons of the revival of Punjabi cultural aspects and suggested to
restore and gather the remaining art pieces on one platform to
8
Ismaeel, D. A., & Al-Abdullatif, A. M. “The Impact of an Interactive Virtual Museum
on Students’ Attitudes Toward Cultural Heritage Education in the Region of Al Hassa,
Saudi Arabia.” International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning
(iJET), 11(04), (2016), pp. 32–39, https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v11i04.5300
9
T.P. Kersten, F. Tschirschwitz, S. Deggim, “Development of a Virtual Museum
Including a 4D presentation of Building History in Virtual Reality”, Volume XLII-2/W3,
2017,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313963055_DEVELOPMENT_OF_A_VIRTU
AL_MUSEUM_INCLUDING_A_4D_PRESENTATION_OF_BUILDING_HISTORY_I
N_VIRTUAL_REALITY
“Khoj” Vol. 90, January-June. 2023 10
maintain the chain for future generations.10
Punjabi culture comprises of not only literature but also,
crafts like basketry, doll making etc. Jyotindra Jain (2018) said in
“The Crafts Museum, New Delhi” that crafts are the essential part
of Indian culture. Main aim of this writing was to mention the
importance of cultural heritage of India. Jain claims that preserving
the crafts of a culture which would serve as a source material for
the revival, reproduction and development of crafts. He claimed
that The Crafts Museum has secured items like laps, incense
burners, ritual accessories, wood carvings, painted woods and such
other daily life material used. He states that museums like crafts
museum must be introduced to help the spread of a culture on a
larger scale and there should be more platforms to compile and
preserve cultural values. This claim of Jain supports the argument
that there should be platforms where people can preserve their
cultural values to mark the importance of cultural.11
According to the further studies, Mehmet Fatih Doker
(2018) wrote in “Promotion of Cultural Heritages Through a
Virtual Museum Platform: Case Study Hagia Sophia” the
importance of virtual museums. Doker said that digital platforms
are primary tools that are used to spread the importance of culture
among people such as websites and social media platforms.
Considering Hagia Sophia as a case study, writer planned to launch
a digital 3D structure of the mosque so that people understand the
value of religion and can walk through the mosque digitally. Doker
also suggested that virtual museums should be created to spread
the importance of cultural values digitally as it is easy for people to
visit and people around the world could have an access to it. This
10
Satyendra Kumar Mishra, “A Story of Languishing Doll: Revival of Cloth Dolls of
India,” Research into Design for Communities, Volume 2, (February 11th, 2017): 71-77,
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-10-3521-0_6
11
Jyotindra Jain, “The Crafts Museum, New Delhi” Volume 40, Issue 1 (December 18th,
2018) 48-51, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1468-
0033.1989.tb00726.x?journalCode=rmil20
“Khoj” Vol. 90, January-June. 2023 11
will also help in the promotion of cultural values and will also help
in preserving it. The writer’s point of view explained that
platforms like social media and website should be launched to
compile values of culture and heritage.12
To provide a platform for the launch of website through a
seminar is the main focus of this study. Thaap (a non-profit
organization to promote culture, art and architecture) has
conducted a seminar on Punjab Culture: Heritage Conservation &
Tourism on March 15th, 2022. Folk tunes and cultural poetry were
performed on the first day of seminar. The moto of the seminar
was to spread peace, love and heritage conservation. The mission
of Thaap is to promote the culture, craft, dialects and literature.13
Literature has reported different posters designed on the
theme of Punjabi culture that shows the different aspects of
Punjabis. Designed and sold by Cybermania Store promotes the
music festivals of Punjabi culture. Designer showed his dedication
toward the musical aspects of Punjabi culture that brings back to
life.14
All these references in the literature that has been
mentioned above have helped to prove that there is a dire need to
preserve the culture which will bring back the sense of ownership
in minds of people who now have stepped back to preserve the
Punjabi culture due to the influence of western culture.
12
Mehmet Fatih Doker, “Promotion of Cultural Heritages Through a Virtual Museum
Platform: Case Study Hagia Sophia” Sakarya University Journal of Science 22(5), (2018-
03-23), 1337-1345, http://scholar.googleusercontent.com/scholar?q=cache:--
ymLzatuYUJ:scholar.google.com/+case+study+on+benefits+of+virtual+museum&hl=en
&as_sdt=0,5
13
Daily Times, “Day 2 of Seminar on Punjab Culture: Heritage Conservation &
Tourism held,” (March 15, 2022), https://dailytimes.com.pk/901129/day-2-of-
seminar-on-punjab-culture-heritage-conservation-tourism-held/
Cybermania, “For the Culture”, https://www.redbubble.com/i/poster/FOR-THE-
14
CULTURE-by-bhagwantmba/84395917.E40HW
“Khoj” Vol. 90, January-June. 2023 12
DISCUSSION
Around 56% of the population now lacks interest in the
culture of Punjab and its importance. To compile and preserve the
Punjabi culture of Pakistan, during the initial steps of research a
tentative idea was proposed of launching a virtual museum and a
website based on Punjabi culture but designing a structure of a
museum whether a physical or virtual was not in the domain of
working as a designer. To find a suitable medium to preserve the
Punjabi culture, a survey was done from which it was concluded
that people are more interested to include current technology to
take this step.
CONCLUSION
According to the conclusions of the survey and discussions
with senior people, it was decided to design and launch a website
named, “Culture of Punjab, Pakistan” as a platform which would
have most of the data compiled and preserved based on the Punjabi
Culture of Punjab Pakistan.
This idea of website was presented to director of Punjabi
department of Institute of Punjabi and Cultural Studies, University
of The Punjab, Lahore. By the mutual decision of the faculty
members and the director of Punjabi Department, it was decided
that this website will be owned by them and will be linked with the
official website of Institute of Punjabi and Cultural Studies,
University of The Punjab, Lahore.
“Khoj” Vol. 90, January-June. 2023 13
REFERENCES
* Assistant Professor, Animation Department, Institute for Art and Culture
** Animation Department, Institute for Art and Culture
A. D., Ismaeel, & Al-Abdullatif. M. A, “The Impact of an Interactive Virtual Museum on
Students’ Attitudes Toward Cultural Heritage Education in the Region of Al Hassa,
Saudi Arabia.” International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning
(iJET), 11(04), (2016), pp. 32–39, https://oi.org/10.3991/ijet.v11i04.5300
Anonymous, “Lost Identity”
Cybermania, “For the Culture”, https” //www.redbubble.com/i/poster/FOR-THE-
CULTURE -by-bhagwantmba/84395917.E40HW
Dilpul Naeem, “Critical Discourse Analysis of Bulhe Shah’s and Mast’s poetry,” Vol. 2,
Issue 1, (March 2016): Pages 8,
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3820499#
Doker Fatih Mehmet, “Promotion of Cultural Heritages Through a Virtual Museum
Platform: Case Study Hagia Sophia” Sakarya Univesrsity Journal of Science 22(5),
(2018-03-23), 1337-1345, https://scholar.googleusercontent.com/scholar/q-cache:--
Hammad, Haneen “Grand Egyptian Museum” Social Media Campaign, (October 29,
2020), https://dribble.com/shots/14486513-Grand-Egyptian-Museum-Posters-Tickets-
and- Stamps
Jain, Jyotindra “The Crafts Museum, New Delhi” Volume 40, Issue 1 (December 18th,
2018) 48-51, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi.abs/10.1111/j.1468-
0033.1989.tb00726.x?journalCode-rmil20
Juni Sher M, “Impacts of Global Media on the Culture of Pakistan: A Case Study of
Youth of Layyah City,” Vol 8, No. 3 (September 2014): 1008-1014,
https://www.proquest.com/ openview/1bf20cdee3414c92413832c98c092b18/1?pq-
origsite=gscholar&cbl=2031961
Kaur Prabhjot, “Revival of Punjab’s Traditional Handicraft: Phulkari,” Last modified
January 2011,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303844447_Revival_of_Punjab’s_
Traditional_Handicraft_Phulkari
Kersten T.P., F. Tschirschwitz, S. Deggim, “Development of a Virtual Museum Including
a 4D presentation of Building History in Virtual Reality”, Volume XLII-2/W3, 2017,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313963055_DEVELOPMENT_OF_A_VIRTU
AL_MUSEUM_INCLUDING_A_4D_PRESENTATION_OF_BUILDING_HISTORY_I
N_VIRTUAL_REALITY
Mishra Kumar Satyendra, “A Story of Languishing Doll: Revival of Cloth Dolls of
India,” Research into Design for Communities, Volume 2, (February 11th, 2017): 71-77,
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-10-3521-0_6
Norma Thomas, “The Importance of Culture Throughout All of Life and Beyond,”
Holistic Nursing Practice, Issue 2 (January 2001): 40-46,
https://journals.lww.com/hnpjournal/Abstract/200/01000/The_Importance_of_Culture_th
“Khoj” Vol. 90, January-June. 2023 14
roughout_All_of_Life7.aspx
Singh, Anil “Digital preservation of cultural heritage resources and manuscripts” Volume
38, no. 4 (2012): 289-296,
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0340035212463139
Sohal Singh Gurpreet “Digitisation preserves Punjab region’s Heritage and Culture,” Last
modified August 2012,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230758213_Digitisation_preserves_Punjab_reg
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