GILGIT-BALTISTAN, May 10 (APP)::Chief Minister Gilgit-Baltistan Hafiz Hafeez Ur Rehman Thursday said that cyclists from around
the world will be invited next year to participate in the International Tour de
Khunjrab-2019 Road Cycle Race in Gilgit-Baltistan.
Talking in an exclusive chat with APP during historical “Shanti-Khoi”
– Cap Day Festival held in connection with International Tour de Khunjrab-2018
Road Cycle Race starting from Friday (May 11) at 11.00 a.m, Chief Minister
Gilgit-Baltistan Hafiz Hafeez Ur Rehman express his confidence that the Race
would give a message of peace to the rest of the world and now cyclists from
Afghanistan, Switzerland, Pakistani origin Australian Cyclist Ismail besides top cyclists from across Pakistan are competing this year but from next year cyclists from around the world would be
invited to participate.
At one way it would help us in promoting healthy
activities and on the other people would see true picture of scenic G-B which
could promote local and international tourism.
He said that the race would prove a beacon of light and
would bring due opportunities to the youth of G-B. He said the youth of GB is
full of talent and if provide due opportunities like the International Race
with international cyclists are here, they could learn more and help us to
motivate them for the good.
“We are very much interest to introduce this new venue to
the world cyclists,” CM Rehman said while replying to a question. The Race, he
said, also promote and highlight to the world the new tourism potential we have
as far as exploring tourism of G-B is concerned.
Chief Minister G-B Hafiz Hafeez Ur Rehman welcome all the
cyclists with school children displayed a smart PT show. Both the Chief
Minister G-B and newly appointed Chief Secretary Babar Hayat Tarar exchanged
their Caps on Cap Day (Shanti-Khoi) Festival. The Chief Minister also
distributed traditional G-B Caps (Topi Shonti) among all the participating
cyclists, officials and other guests.
Soon after the distribution of Caps on Cap Day Festival,
the Chief Minister Hafiz Hafeez Ur Rehman led all the cyclists by himself rides
on sports bi-cycle and went through main circular road for 2-km while people
were standing on both sides of the road formally welcoming all the
international cyclists.
People across Gilgit-Baltistan were also there with their
traditional headgear of a white woolen cap with a feather in it to mark the
first ever “Cap Day”.
The region’s government had already made announcement to
observe the event in connection with the International Cycle Race. “We have
decided to introduce our culture to the people living outside G-B and to
foreign visitors,” CM Rehman said. “This is our identity and all government
officials have put on the traditional cap on this day every year,” Rehman after
completing a good ride on the bi-cycle, said. “It is an exchange of love and
welcoming gesture to the cyclists who are here highlighting a soft image of the
people and G-B,” he added.
He said along with this the same festival held across 10
districts of G-B to highlight the region’s rich culture. He said more than 10,000
people associated with the tourism industry in G-B. He said the tourists
returning in increasing numbers recently, with over 500,000 visiting G-B last
year and an even greater number this year we are expecting, the government
decided to hold a “Cap Day” day as an attraction and as a celebration of local
culture.
Initially, the day was set to be marked on September 1 to
coincide with autumn, but the date was later changed because of the
International Cycle Race. The traditional Gilgiti cap is called “Shanti-Khoi” in
the local language. The soft, round and flat-topped cap is usually white in
colour and is made from the finest wool. They are usually decorated with either
a tuft of feathers or a flower.
Its history can be traced back to the days when the
region was still divided among small, but fiercely independent princely states
which existed before 1947. The cap itself is believed to have become a mainstay
of the region during the 17th and 18th centuries. Shanti-Khoi was conceptualized
to escape the freezing winds of a region that sees the temperature drop to 25
degree centigrade below freezing point during winters.
Considered the official headgear of G-B, no traditional
formal dress in this mountain-locked region is considered complete without the
cap. Such is its importance that was incorporated into the official uniforms of
the Gilgit scouts during pre-partition days, a force commended by Major William
Brown and it is still part of the uniform of Northern Light Infantry Regiment
(NLI) presently.