Dholki celebration brings music and community spirit to Accrington station
Accrington’s Stations of Welcome group marked the forthcoming wedding of one of its members with a joyful traditional Pakistani Dholki celebration — beginning on board a train and continuing at the station.
The station adoption group, believed to be the only one in the country made up mostly of Muslim women, is well known locally for its community work and volunteering at Accrington station. Members help care for the platform planters and the station garden, bringing colour and pride to the railway environment.
Neilam, the group’s treasurer, is getting married this summer, and fellow members wanted to begin her traditional Pakistani wedding celebrations in memorable style. The group travelled by train from Accrington to Blackburn and back, singing and playing the Dholki (a traditional South Asian two-headed hand drum) before continuing the festivities at Accrington station with food and more music.
Stations of Welcome thanked Northern for its cooperation and permission to hold the celebration on board, helping make the occasion a special start to Neilam’s wedding celebrations.