Off to Thatta Kedona
Tuesday, January 27, 2026
Unimaginable – a generation ago, the journey from Lahore to Thatta Ghulamka Dheroka (TGD) took eight hours; a round trip in one day was hardly possible. Tongas and rickshaws were the usual means of transport in rural areas. There wasn't a single gas station between Lahore and Okara.
The situation improved with the construction of the Lahore-Multan Highway, so that visitors, by car or bus (e.g., from universities), increasingly visited the village of TGD.
Sustainable tourism developed. Guests could stay overnight with accommodation and meals; thanks to the drinking water project, fish could be offered for local consumption; neem tree leaves for insect repellent were available, as were sugarcane spread and fresh buffalo milk.A prize was regularly awarded for the most beautiful mud house (Preservation of Cultural Heritage).
Historical sites were highlighted in the surrounding area (the fort in Gogera, Lord Berkeley's cemetery near Gogera / separatist terrorists rebelled against the occupiers – the first days of independence); the publication "Dolls, Toys and More" by S A J Shirazi, published by Feroszons, draws attention to places of interest: Patoki, Sahiwal, Okara, and Sher Garh.
The project's sustainability in this context was repeatedly hampered by major political events (nuclear tests), security concerns, and natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and pandemics, so that domestic and international guests and visitors could take advantage of the pleasant temperatures between September and March.
TK (Thatta Kedona) lives on, preserving its traditional character. Local culture and looks optimistically to the future:
-In 2019, an art project (Artist in Residence Peter Hecht) was successfully carried out,
-In 2021, the crime novel *The Village of Dolls* by Hans Sachs was published,
-In 2024, Dr. Gwendolyne Kulick received her doctorate with a research dissertation in which the TK project also played a role.
-In 2025, after 25 years, the doll project participated in the Bazaar 2025 in Berlin with its own stand, under the patronage of Dr. Senta – a wonderful sign of the connection between tradition and the future.
Labels: Dolls Toys and More, Dr Norbert Pintsch, Dr. Gwendolyne Kulick, Peter Hecht, TGD, Thatta Kedona, The Village of Dolls
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 3:15 PM,
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Thatta Kedona is more than dolls and toys
When the article "German Connection" by Asgher Javed appeared in Nation, Sunday Plus, April 27, 2008, p. 14, readers were probably unaware of the connections between the three women in the village project; among other things, Ruth Pfau had a connection to Mango-Pir near Karachi with the workshop for leprosy patients there, and Annemarie Schimmel had a connection to TGD because of the vibrant local, traditional culture.
In one case, the Ruth Pfau Basic Health Unit was created, and in the other, the Annemarie Schimmel Cultural Complex, where theater performances, film screenings, and village music concerts took place!
Senta Siller's work was not only that of a -researcher (fieldwork in the Five Provinces), -designer (dolls based on village life), -producer (marketable items), -teacher (training village women), -marketing strategist (museums at home and abroad), -networker (Schimmel-Pfau-Kenoyer-Salima Hashmi/Ex-NCA Lahore, DSFestival, Expo 2000, 2005), but she is rightly considered an anthropologist. All of this demonstrates the visibility and awareness of local village culture, bridging the gap between science and culturally informed consumption, while also creating sustainable measures for village women.
Incidentally, village dolls are housed in the Lok Virsa Museum in Islamabad, and thanks to the IWSA Prize, village toys found their way to the Children's Museum in Izmir!
It all began with the production of the film "Amjad's Village," a 24-hour glimpse into village life in TGD. An interesting article by Maqbool Malik, "Planning of a Model Village," was published in Dawn in 1994. Numerous articles by journalists have praised the project, which, through Senta Siller, has received several awards, including one from UNESCO in 2007, recognizing it as the outstanding doll project in South Asia. Ultimately, it's all on the path to UNESCO World Heritage status.
Labels: Amjad Ali, Annemarie Schimmel, BHU, Dr Ruth Pfau, Dr Senta Siller, Germany, Pakistan, TGD, Thatta Kedona
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 11:08 AM,
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The web never forgets – so says
Monday, January 26, 2026
Since 2000, village project information has been primarily disseminated online; since January 2004, there has been a dedicated blog: www.THATTAKEDONA.blogspot.com
Only those who browse the blog will realize that while the flagship project of dolls and handicrafts has successfully established itself as a tradition (an initiative of Dr. Senta Siller), behind and beneath the surface of these crafts were a multitude of other projects that also addressed the future.
Photovoltaics, harnessing wind power with kites, windmills for electricity generation, sustainable and climate-friendly construction with clay, internet radio, and much more were topics intended as inspiration but have since become part of the urban culture; for example, the Photovoltaic system (the first and only private installation in Pakistan in 1997).
Student groups from NCA, UEAT, Comsats, BNU, and PU traveled by bus to the AFA's Technology and Transfer Centre in Thatta Ghulamkha Dhirokha.
The AFA's TTTC conducted workshops in Karachi and Abbottabad, experimental houses were built in Lahore, and an Institute for Experimental Building was established there. The FPAC's magazine, GREENMAG, featured several articles showcasing certain results of the TTTC. At the former NWFP, special houses with adapted technology were built for flood victims.
Not only did the AFA's WAC, now the Senta Siller Design Centre, operate outside the region, but the TTTC also collaborated with the CAT in Cameroon and TM in Colombia, where institutes were established at universities. A dedicated university for Appropriate Technology and Traditional Medicine was even founded in the Northwest Region of Cameroon.
Labels: Culture, Dr Senta Siller, Prof Dr Norbert Pintsch, Thatta Kedona
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 9:44 AM,
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