- By: Maj Aamir Zia (R)
There was a time when spring in Lahore didn’t need an announcement. You simply looked up. The sky turned yellow, rooftops filled with laughter, and Basant arrived like an old friend effortless, collective, alive.
Basant was never just a festival. It was an economy in motion. Kite makers, paper dyers, food vendors, musicians, tailors, transporters, and small shopkeepers all found seasonal dignity in work. Money circulated quickly and locally, strengthening households and neighborhoods alike. Few traditions delivered such a natural economic multiplier.
We also must be honest. When unsafe strings turned celebration into competition, lives were lost. The ban was painful, but it came from a place of human safety. Culture cannot justify harm.
What’s changed today is public maturity. The demand now is not for reckless revival, but for a regulated, safer Basant. And this opens an important opportunity especially for the state. A well-managed Basant directly benefits the government through licensing, permits, tourism taxes, vendor fees, and corporate sponsorships without heavy public spending. Instead of policing an underground activity or losing revenue to informality, the state becomes a facilitator of a legal, transparent seasonal economy. That revenue can fund safety enforcement, emergency services, and urban upkeep making Basant largely self-financing. For society at large, the benefits run deeper than rupees. Seasonal employment reduces pressure on already strained job markets. Communities reconnect in shared spaces. Cities feel lived-in, not merely survived. Cultural pride replaces cultural anxiety.
On the global stage, Basant offers Pakistan something rare, a joyful narrative. A country that celebrates spring responsibly, protects life, and monetizes culture intelligently sends a powerful signal. It says Pakistan is not stuck in the past it is learning from it. Basant doesn’t need resurrection. It needs stewardship. Let it return not as chaos in the sky, but as confidence on the ground for the people, the economy, and the nation’s image abroad.
- The author is a veteran and contributes regularly in the national dailies. He can be reached via email
- anuhkaf@gmail.com
The Basant What an occasion on sky of DATA ki Nugry ! Lahorrians zindah Dillan I people who really make life an enjoying moment ,,, wished the same traditional manner be back on to the life of Ravians !!
Thanks for the writer who took the readers into the yellow Basantti skies Baba Milton Naqeebi