Bahria University was established by Pakistan Navy through a presidential ordinance on 7th Feb, 2000. The 16th foundation day was celebrated at BUMDC on 8th Feb, 2016 followed by cultural day celebrations. The day began with a graceful ceremony held at 10.30 am to commemorate the Foundation Day which was held in BUMDC courtyard which was decorated with balloons and lights. The ceremony was attended by all the faculty and students. With the foundation day banner in the backdrop, Honorable Director General BUMDC Vice Admiral (Retd) Tehseen ullah Khan HI (M) hoisted the national flag with full honors while the all faculty and staff members sang the national anthem proudly.
Flag hoisting was followed by cake cutting ceremony which was decorated with Bahria University logo. Honorable Director General BUMDC Vice Admiral (Retd) Tahseen ullah Khan HI (M) along with medical and dental sections Principals cut the cake while the students happily chanted the “Happy birthday Bahria”. The foundation day event concluded with refreshment for the faculty and students.
Soon after, students and faculty got busy putting the final preparations for the cultural day 2016 in place. Honorable Director General BUMDC Vice Admiral (Retd) Tahseen ullah Khan HI (M) graced the occasion along with Principal BU. All the faculty members and students participated in organizing the cultural day celebration to highlight the importance of traditions related to different ethnicities of Pakistan with the emphasis on unity. Cultural day events started in the afternoon around 2 pm in the grand campus auditorium. The auditorium too was decorated according to the theme and presented an altruistic view. All the students and faculty were dressed in colorful cultural attire and were a joy to look at. The event started with an instrumental of National anthem by a group of students which was electrifying and received a standing ovation from the audience.
It was followed by a marvelous medley song sung by five students dressed in cultural apparel representing the national theme and four province of Pakistan. The cultural songs were heartwarming and audiences were cheering with all their heart. The epitome of this performance was when the performers sang the patriotic song “SOHNI DHARTI ALLAH RAKHAY” together. It was defiantly a fitting end to the medley as it embodied the unity of our nation proud of their individual culture but together for each other in the name of this Sohni Dharti Pakistan.
This medley was followed by the Declamation contest which was delivered both in Urdu and in English. The participants put forward their opinion on whether “BASANT”; the spring festival celebrated primarily by Kite flying; should be condemned considering the death toll during kite flying annually or celebrated as a national tradition as it has been going on since ages. Arguments from both sides were flawlessly delivered, each supporting their school of thought with out of the box reasoning. Although everyone did a splendid job but only 2 students could be awarded, one being Wardah Zainab (English) and the other was Zeenat Junaid(Urdu).
In contrast from the heavy thoughts of declamation contest a singing performance was followed which included amazing vocals of Sana Safdar, Aqib Javed, Abdul Malik and Nimra. All the singers delivered spell bounding performances on folk songs from different cultures including Jugni, Qarara Rasha, Danay pay Dana, Sufi poetry by Shah Latif. Thought provoking poetry, soul touching melodies and powerful vocals were enhanced by great string work on guitar by Abdul Hadi. All the performances received applause and cheers form the audiences.
As soon as the singers left the stage students dressed in rural get up start rolling in with “charpai ” and all other kind of props. So the stage was all set for a short paly which were produced and performed by students of Drama and Art society. The whole play /skits revolved around the stereotypical behavior of parents from different cultural backgrounds considering education, marriage by self-choice or mingling with the people of other cultures as taboo. The crescendo for the play was when a person belonging to Kashmiri background asked all the other culture people that why are you fighting for dominance? This is not what we are struggling for in Kashmir. Kashmiris are fighting for the Pakistan which was the vision of Quid -e -Azam, a united and proud Pakistan in which every ethnicity and religion maintained its identity freely but was united and harmonious with each other.
The somber message from the play was shaken by the greatest aspiring vocals of Guest Music Band lead singer Waqar who was member of cock studio spell bounding performance of his colleague on sitar. Sitar being the symbol of south Asian culture was never played this beautifully at least in BUMDC premises. Sitar segment was indeed the most melodious moment of the event.
The highlight of the afternoon came from the most surprising dimension. It was a Gilgat Baltistan folk marvelous dance performance by the Fahmeed and Hassan and it was mind blowing. As the song of Gilgit Baltistan, which was played prior to the performance, said “ Mohtaj kahan pehchan k hain, ham Gilgit Baltiatan k hain”. This folk dance performance and the performance just swept all of the audience from their feet.
Lastly a singing competition which was candidly named as Bahria Idol was held which had 6 competitors. And what a treat for ears it was. But as all competitions go, winner is only one so Amina Javed bagged the title of Bahria Idol this time.
With indoor event coming to the end focus was moved to the outdoor events. The parking ground of BUMDC was temporarily made into a rural “Mela” like environment. There were stalls for food representing different cultures and games and handicraft from all the provinces. Stall from Sinds was decorated with “Rilli”and “Ajrak” and a variety of embroided clothes. Live “makkai di roti” and “sarson da saag” was getting served at Punjab stall. KPK boasted the appetites from traditional “Chai and Paratha ” and “Chapli kebab”. Balochistan stall was colorfully decorated with handicrafts and artifact from the region. And how can the national gastronomical sensation “Biryani”, “ Gol Gappa”, “Kulfi” be forgotten. More urban taste buds were satisfied by a steady supply of pizza and shawarma.
The event concluded, although with a heavy heart, at around 11 pm. The whole day was filled with festivities, patriotism, and unity and how can we forget pure fun and joy. Without a doubt the event was a smashing success and it would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of the faculty and the students who took time out of the most hectic schedule of medical and dental education and played there part in making this event a success hence paving the way for many others to come.
