Singer Hasan Raheem has shared details about his Gilgit wedding and celebrations, saying he didn’t think people would love them.
In an interview with BBC Asia journalist Haroon Rashid, Hasan opened up about his traditional Gilgit wedding. At his mother’s request, he wore traditional cultural attire and through his wedding, the world got to see the rich traditions of Gilgit-Baltistan.
On the wedding, Hasan wore traditional Gilgit-Baltistani clothing and performed a traditional dance, which was widely appreciated for its authenticity and cultural richness.
He called his wedding week the best week of his life, adding that through his attire, dance and celebrations, people across the world learned about Gilgit-Baltistan’s wedding customs and cultural heritage.
Hasan expressed special gratitude to his mother who encouraged him to wear the “shouqa” (a traditional coat).
“I really liked my cap and the jacket I wore called Shuqa which was actually my father’s… gifted by my nana (maternal grandfather).” Decorated with a feather and called “shati”, he said the credit of his look goes to his mother.
Hasan admitted that he didn’t expect people to appreciate his attire, traditions or dance as the traditional dance is usually performed by a select few within the community. “I wasn’t sure that people are going to like it but everyone loved it.”
He shared that he was initially worried about how people would receive his dance, but after the videos surfaced online, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive with many commenting that they had never seen such a dance before and found it incredibly impressive.
“I was surprised by the response. Before the dance went viral, I told his friends that if music didn’t work out, I’d pursue dancing instead.”
When asked about expressing love for his wife, Hasan said that before bringing her on camera, he had many thoughts running through his mind, but he silenced them all, trusting that what he was doing felt right.
He once again emphasised that his wedding week was the best of his life. Although he initially didn’t plan to share the wedding publicly, his mother asked him, “Should we confiscate the phones of all the wedding guests?” To which he said no. “I said to my mom, our relatives will not approve of the idea.”
As a result, many videos of the wedding were filmed and later went viral on social media, giving the world a glimpse of the beauty of Gilgit-Baltistan’s culture.
Hasan Raheem got married to Noor, a close relative, in August, with the celebrations lasting an entire week.