Wall chalking.

 “Zaroori hay zaroori hay, Mahajir sooba zaroori hay”

“Koi dekhay na dekhay shabeer tw dekhega”

“Ek se barh kar ek zaleel, amreeka aur israeel”

“Dunia ka pehla Perfume Chowk, khushboo sub k liye” etc etc etc…

Yes, you can find out these kind of chalking everywhere in Karachi.

In January, 2012 we heard of a law being introduced against the wall-chalking in the city by Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) Administrator Muhammad Hussein Sayed. Later in April, 2012 we see an announcement to ban wall-chalking and hoisting of party flags and banners across the province with an immediate effect that imposed under section 144 CrPC and remained in force for 30 days God knows where. Anyway, my point is not to ask my government’s integrity on keeping an eye on this issue too (they already have their own problems) and so I’m not questioning them, but the political parties and stake holders that actually are administrating my city. 

I too get enthused by the lyrical flow of “Chalo Chalo Nishtar Park Chalo” or “Amreeka ka jo yaar hay, ghaddar hay ghaddar hay”, but after developing sense and deeming over the issue I found it quite harsh and dual standard that all my citizens are aware of. But getting into the details of this wall-chalking, I’ve no glee attached to it. Tell me? Whatever a kid sees in the environment, s/he adopts the same na? I too just repeated what was written on the wall in public, but everyone stern on me, I don’t know what is bad calling this publicly when we see this everywhere “Kuttay ka bacha kachra phenk raha hay”or “Gadha peshaab kar raha hay”. I mean this is our level of teaching everyone out there on common grounds “Haq ki khulli kitaab, Altaf Altaf! Hum na hon hamaray baad, Altaf Altaf!”or anything alike that creates a sense of what is going around the city. We aren’t among those nations who keep on spending their money over institutes and universities or colleges, but that nation who already is literate and educated enough to write on the notebooks, but on the walls so that each and everyone get a benefit of whatever one has learnt (either good or bad).

Contradictory to the sectarian fights and taliban’s roar “Kafir kafir shia kafir” or “Gustaq-e-Rasool wajib-ul qatal” I saw a campaign going on couple of months back; their motive was to use the same walls for conveying peace and tranquility by painting some artwork around the city, but I guess that did not work because there’re still people getting killed everyday.

Quoting an incident that happened nearly three weeks ago when I was passing by a mosque; I found some real impressive quote written on the wall and was quite lengthy so I stopped and started reading and when I turned after reading that there was a flock standing and reading the same. After that I read all the quotations written there and that flock followed me. This is what I wanted to point out that we are the quotation people now who set their lives according to a quote. They are our last mentors to judge our credibility and writing them on the walls is more beneficial than to paint them with “Masjid hay horn na bajaein” or “Masjid ki deewar k sath motor cycle khari karna mamnoo hay” or painting them with the upcoming religious activities or events. Writing quotations of religious scholars and Sufis on Masjid’s wall and that of the worldly advisers on the remaining walls of the city is more gainful and helpful in promoting education and code of conducts because we know we aren’t able to get rid of them and that everyone will keep on reading them then why not promote something constructive. In the same context I saw a wall of some bridge recently marked by the words of Abraham Lincoln and Ashfaq Ahmed by our famous political party of Karachi. At least a good step.