Thatta Kedona

Culture is a Basic Need

Prof. Gwendolyn Kulick's Journey into Pakistan's Heritage
Sunday, June 28, 2026

The academic journey of German design researcher Prof. Dr. Gwendolyn Kulick is both extensive and impressive. She studied Product Design at the University of the Arts Berlin. From 2004 to 2017, she volunteered for the Thatta Kedona project. She also taught at BNU in Lahore before moving to Cairo University in 2015. Until 2017, she contributed to the Thatta Kedona doll display at the Ethnological Museum of Berlin.

Her doctoral research focused on the Thatta Kedona doll project in the small Pakistani village of Thatta Ghulamka Dhiroka in Okara District. Dr. Kulick completed her PhD in February 2024 at the School of Design and Art at the University of Wuppertal, Germany, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Brigitte Wolf. Her dissertation explored Pakistan’s Crafts for Empowerment.

Labels: Gwendolyn Kulick, Research

posted by S A J Shirazi @ 3:15 PM, ,

Village Doll
Wednesday, June 24, 2026

A SHORT STORY BY NADEEM WAHID SIDDIQUI

Nadeem Wahid Siddiqui

Set against the backdrop of Thatta Kedona, our village handicraft and welfare initiative, this touching story was written by my late friend Nadeem Waheed Siddiqui in 2023, only months before his passing on February 14, 2024. More than a literary work, it is a reflection of his profound love for his homeland and of the deep emotional bond he shared with my village and with the ideals behind Thatta Kedona. Throughout the story, one can sense his affection for the people, traditions, and aspirations that inspire this unique project. Nadeem Waheed Siddiqui was a constant source of encouragement and support. He generously shared fresh ideas, thoughtful suggestions, and invaluable advice to help strengthen and advance Thatta Kedona. Although he is no longer with us, his vision, kindness, and good wishes continue to live on through the work he cared about so deeply. Perhaps this is the true legacy of sincere people. RIP dear Nadeem.

Click here to read a short story by Nadeem Wahid Siddiqui

Labels: Publications

posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2:08 PM, ,

Art and Crafts
Tuesday, June 23, 2026

Unique and Mass-Produced Items

Improvements in craftsmanship, piece by piece and time and time again, did not lead to a reduction in skill. If only it did!

Simplifications of craftsmanship, more and more, lead to mass production and the generation of larger financial reserves. Unfortunately, that's how it is!

The unique is being displaced by the advertised, individual production is declining, and standardization leads to ever greater uniformity!

For the unique, the following should apply: limitation and production below the B-E-Point; for the widespread, the following applies: more marketing and production above the B-E-Point!

The unique selling point of the unique is that it is local and timeless, and is tied to its preservation as a world cultural heritage; the widespread is global and international, as well as short-term!

The unique has its price and should be supported and promoted. The widespread, mass-produced product derives its value from global and international marketing, whereby resource depletion and environmental destruction go hand in hand with robotics, standardization, and anonymization, readily understood as progress by the standardized society.

Labels: Handicrafts, Thatta Kedona