KARACHI: Rains give much-needed facelift to Chaukandi
By Bhagwandas
KARACHI, Aug 26: While the heavy rains that lashed Karachi in the past couple of weeks have brought miseries to its residents owing to the failure and mismanagement of the civic agencies, the showers have worked wonders for the stone carvings at the Chaukandi graveyard.
The beautiful stone carved designs on the graves in Chaukandi, located at the fringes of the city along the National Highway, used to present a dull look owing to poor upkeep and maintenance. However, when this reporter visited the protected heritage site recently, the tombs looked clean and more attractive than usual.
When an official of the federal archaeology department was asked whether the department, which is responsible for its upkeep and security, had finally woken up and started taking its work seriously, he said that the department had not done anything recently, but the beauty of the stones has come out due to the heavy rains that have cleaned the dust that had settled in the delicate designs and carvings.
He, however, said that a restoration project was in the pipeline and the department planned to implement it as soon as it was approved. He said that the department had earlier also implemented one such project under which similar graves in the Taung graveyard, situated in the Khirthar National Park, were restored with financial assistance from the Sindh wildlife department.
According to sources the Chaukandi tombs are generally attributed to Jokhio and Baloch tribes and were built between the 15th and 18th centuries. Chaukandi literally means the four corners. The tombs are built of yellow sandstone, which was quarried from Jung Shahi in neighbouring Thatta district.
The most impressive tombs are the pyramidal structures. They are generally two-and-a-half feet wide, five to eight feet long and four to 14ft high.
The geometric designs that cover the tombs are extraordinary. The intricate carving in the designs is unique and its delicacy gives the impression of wood carving.
Sources said that the same designs are found in the textiles, pottery, jewellery and wood carvings in Sindh and Balochistan.
The tombs of men are capped with stylised turbans and are occasionally carved with horses, arms and weapons. The tombs of women are decorated mostly with jewellery such as anklets, bracelets, necklaces, rings and ear pendants.
The tombs, found only in Sindh and Balochistan, can be found along the Makran coast up to the Indus River and up the river to Sehwan.
The most elaborately carved tombs are located at sites such as Hanidan, Lasbella and along the old trunk road at Malir, Dunblottee, and Mirpur Sakro. Tombs have also been found on the east side of the Indus River at Gujjo, Thariba, Sonda and Sehwan, the sources added.—Photo by writer
KARACHI, Aug 26: While the heavy rains that lashed Karachi in the past couple of weeks have brought miseries to its residents owing to the failure and mismanagement of the civic agencies, the showers have worked wonders for the stone carvings at the Chaukandi graveyard.
The geometric designs that cover the tombs are extraordinary. The intricate carving in the designs is unique and its delicacy gives the impression of wood carving.
