River Indus, Sehwan Sharif

River Indus, Sehwan Sharif
Originally uploaded by Ameer Hamza

The Indus River (Sanskrit: सिन्धु Sindhu; Urdu: دریائے سندھ Daryā-e Sindh; Hindi: सिन्धु नदी Sindhu; Sindhi: سنڌو Sindhu; Punjabi: سندھ Sindh; Gujarati: સિંધુ નદી Sindhu; Pashto: اباسين Abāsin "Father of Rivers"; Persian: رود سند Rūd-e Sind‎; Arabic: السند Al-Sind‎; Tibetan: སེང་གེ།་གཙང་པོ Sênggê Zangbo "Lion River"; Greek: Ινδός Indós; Turki: Nilab) is a major river which flows through Pakistan. It also has courses through western Tibet (in China) and Northern India.

Originating in the Tibetan plateau in the vicinity of Lake Mansarovar, the river runs a course through the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit, Baltistan and flows through Pakistan in a southerly direction along the entire length of Pakistan to merge into the Arabian Sea near the port city of Karachi in Sindh. The total length of the river is 3,180 km (1,980 mi). It is Pakistan's longest river.

The river has a total drainage area exceeding 1,165,000 km2 (450,000 sq mi). Its estimated annual flow stands at around 207 km3 (50 cu mi), making it the twenty-first largest river in the world in terms of annual flow. Zanskar is its left bank tributary in Ladakh. In the plains, its left bank tributary is Chenab which itself has four major tributaries, namely, Jhelum, Ravi, Beas and Satluj. Its principal right bank tributaries are Shyok, Gilgit, Kabul, Gomal and Kurram. Beginning at the heights of the world in a spring and fed with glaciers and rivers in the Himalayas, the river supports ecosystems of temperate forests, plains and arid countryside.

The Indus forms the delta of Pakistan mentioned in the Vedic Rigveda as Sapta Sindhu and the Iranic Zend Avesta as Hapta Hindu (both sets of terms meaning Seven Rivers). The river has been a source of wonder during the Classical Period. King Darius of Persia sent Scylax of Caryanda to explore the river in 510 BCE.

More on this great river:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_River

Traditional straw items, Sehwan Sharif

Traditional straw items, Sehwan Sharif
Originally uploaded by Ameer Hamza

I really like these traditional items made in various parts of Sindh province. In this case they are the daily use items like plates, covers, tops, decorative pieces for walls, etc. They are earthly, which means they are environment friendly; they are made from hand thus employing lots of females in the process; and they are cultural icons for Sindh, just like blue tiles from Hala or ajrak from central Sindh are.

[Image available for sale from Getty:
http://www.gettyimages.com/Search/Search.aspx?assettype=image&family=creative&artist=Ameer+Hamza]

Mehndi / Henna

Mehndi / Henna
Originally uploaded by Ameer Hamza

Via Flickr:
The mehndi applied for weddings is very different from those applied for religious or social festivals like Eids or parties, etc. The wedding mehndi, besides being very expensive (b/w USD 50 - USD 300 +), is also very detailed and may easily consume over 3-4 hours of intense concentration. Even more.