Tracing Karachi’s past: If these walls could talk

Speakers touch upon wall chalking in the city and the golden days of cinema.


Our Correspondent January 02, 2013
Graffiti and wallk chalking to convey commercial, political and sectarian messages have become highly common in the city, according to Prof. Noman Ahmed of NED who was one of the speakers at the two-day NED workshop. PHOTO: FILE

KARACHI: From Saddam Hussein’s sudden surge in popularity during the Gulf War to the destruction of cinemas, the streets of Karachi have many stories to tell. This was the theme that brought together artists, town planners, writers and others on Tuesday to discuss how Pakistan’s civic life has evolved over the years.

The two-day workshop, Rethinking the Urban in Pakistan, organised by NED University in collaboration with University of Austin, American Institute of Pakistan Studies and Habib University concluded on Wednesday.

Art historian Iftikhar Dadi recalled the circulation of posters and postcards of Iraq’s embattled leader Saddam Hussein in Karachi during the Gulf War.

“A Newsline cover story in its February 1991 edition read ‘Whatever happens in the Gulf, Saddam seems to have won the war here’,” said Dadi. “It was also believed that Iraqi government was giving funds to religious parties for portraying him as a hero.”

What really interested Dadi was the use of art by the ‘propagandists’ - citing the example of a postcard where Saddam is shown with a white-bearded Sufi. Dadi said that it was clearly trying to make use of South Asia’s love for Sufism.

“Then there is a picture of him riding a white horse just like Napoleon Bonaparte’s famous portrait, Crossing the Alps.” He also talked about artist Naiza Khan’s famous Henna Hands images which have appeared as graffiti on walls around the city.

Recalling

Recalling the golden days of cinemas in Karachi, associate professor of anthropology Kamran Asdar Ali said that there was a time when housewives would go to cinemas with friends without fear. “Cinemas like Palace, Paradise, Regal and Nishat were landmarks.” It was also a time when children would play in open spaces at a distance from their homes without their parents getting worried, he added.

Writer Asif Farrukhi regretted that Karachi has mostly been talked about in negative terms. He chose to talk about the novels which have shed light on life in the city.

Art on walls

The chairperson of NED’s Architecture and Planning Department, Prof. Noman Ahmed, spoke on the use of graffiti and wall chalking to convey political and sectarian messages or to simply sell products.

“Every person in Karachi cannot help but notice the numerous wall chalking around the city,” he said. “But the use of lampposts and electricity poles for advertisements represents anarchy.”

Referring to a survey, Ahmed said that messages for important political and religious days, such as calls for public gatherings, take up most of the space. “However, sometimes slogans of completely unknown political parties, such as Peoples Movement, also surface. But we can’t find any record of this party.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 3rd, 2013.

COMMENTS (1)

Ali | 11 years ago | Reply

Sometimes I just wonder how the walls of Karachi portray the minds and thinking people living here. If a person visits Karachi for the first time, he/she can easily grasp the situation (political, social, religious, etc mindsets) of the city just by having a look around and reading the walls.

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