A foreigner in town
By Anuj Kumar Nadadur
When I first decided to come to Karachi, my friends back home in Los Angeles (USA) thought I had gone crazy. They anxiously asked me if I knew what I was doing, or if I had been watching the news recently. They warned me that in Karachi, as an Indian and as a visitor from the United States, I would be ostracised and harassed.
Of course, the only image of Karachi that they had was limited to the news they were used to seeing about the city on CNN and BBC. Unfortunately, the city is portrayed in America as unstable and dangerous, especially for foreigners. The Karachi that my friends at home know is a city associated with car bombs, al Qaeda and Taliban.
However, during my brief stay here, I have seen another side of Karachi and have experienced the city in a way that is impossible to imagine, unless one stays here for some time. The Karachi I have seen is not filled with perils (perils that I now see are grossly exaggerated in Western media sources) but is, instead, a bustling and lively metropolis, a city that rarely sleeps. I can think of no other place in the world in which there is the same number of people on the street at 2a.m. in the morning as at 2p.m. in the afternoon. In fact, the city comes alive at night and parts of the city that appear tranquil during the day are filled with lights and activity.
And though one may not see Karachi as a prime tourist destination, I have found that there are interesting sites and things to do in the city. Aside from the main sites such as Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s tomb and the museum located at the monument, the Mohatta Palace is also a beautiful museum/site to see. The architecture at the palace is stunning and the current art exhibit of artist Jamil Naqsh’s work is equally striking.
In addition to the palace, I also found Saddar and the ‘downtown’ part of the city fascinating, as I saw buildings that have stayed virtually the same for generations since pre-Partition times. Also, since Karachi is a port city, it has beautiful beaches and my experience of boating at the Boat Basin was both pleasant and relaxing.
Finally, I find the atmosphere in Karachi invigorating, even when I am not being a tourist and doing any sightseeing per se. There is, simply put, always something happening in the city. People are lively and energetic and the streets are never dull but are instead always filled with activity.
In addition, I have also been able to see and appreciate Pakistan’s cultural diversity in this city. In the West, Muslims are treated largely monolithically and common people see little difference between separate peoples throughout the Muslim world. Though I was not victim to such abject ignorance before coming to Pakistan, I did not realise the rich diversity contained in Pakistan, and Karachi by itself.
In fact, my first introduction to this diversity came at the Mohatta Palace, where on the top floor they have an exhibit that shows the different peoples in Pakistan and explains their customs, what regions they are from and their different manners of dress. During my stay in Karachi, I have been further exposed to this diversity as I have witnessed firsthand a cross-section of the Pakistani people since those from all over the nation live together in the city. While I have been here, I have met Pathans, Punjabis, Mohajirs, Sindhis and Balochis–each with their own unique roots, culture, language and customs. Even more amazing is how all these people have come together in this city and have come to identify themselves as Karachiites.
From what I have seen here, news reports highlighting sectarian violence dividing the city are clearly the exception and not the rule. It is, in fact, truly beautiful to see the rich cultural diversity coexisting and blending together in a single city.
Unfortunately, my stay in Karachi has not been all positive. During my visit, I have also been deeply struck and saddened by the immense poverty that is prevalent throughout the city. Though it is true that there are signs of poverty in any major city, I am most affected by the fact that poverty in Karachi coexists alongside richness in the city. On one end of a street is the most abject of slums and on the other side is a mansion that spans the length of the entire street. I remember especially the stark contrast I noted when I saw a family of five begging for money outside an extravagant mansion that seemed to stretch on for blocks. While I have seen the gap between rich and poor in other so-called developing countries, namely India and also in Mexico, nowhere was the gap as obvious as I have seen in my experience here.
The other specific manifestation of poverty in Karachi that hurts me is the sheer number of people who resort to begging because they cannot find another way to establish a livelihood for their family. It is depressing to see that a city with the life, vitality and magnificence of Karachi is plagued by such abject poverty. Though I know little about the administrative aspects of the city, from what I have seen here, I believe that combating this poverty should be the utmost priority of the relevant administrators and bureaucrats so that the pain of poverty in Karachi can be assuaged and its adverse effects can be eradicated from the city.
On the whole, however, I have found my stay in Karachi to be extremely fulfilling, rewarding and fascinating. While here, I have learned a lot about not just Karachi but Pakistan as a whole. ** I can say without qualification that I have fallen in love with the city and have grown to enjoy the people, the sites and the general environment that characterises the place. I plan to go back home and discredit some of the notions that my friends have about the city, and try to expose them to the real Karachi. **It truly is a bustling city that is blessed with a constant sense of vitality, a colourful diversity and a rich history.
The writer is a student at Princeton University, New Jersey and was on holidays in Pakistan recently.
