KARACHI: There is a stigma attached to the stick, or rather the walking stick. You see anyone with it and you think they must be experiencing some problem in walking. But walking sticks are also carried around for several other reasons, including style.

An uncle of mine always carried a stick with him when going out for his early morning or evening walks. Karachi has numerous stray dogs and he kept his walking stick close to keep them at bay.

Then my grandfather had a collection of walking sticks to go with every suit or casual wear. For him it was more a matter of style.

Walking sticks also come in handy when attempting uphill treks. There are special hiking or trekking poles for the purpose to keep one steady along the paths but if you visit Nathiagali or Murree you find the plain canes in many sizes, even for children that come in a variety of handles.

The sticks for health problems are different from these. Among those are different orthopaedic sticks, some with tripod bases for making them extra steady like the quadripod canes, and some with offset handles and arm supports. Also there are the folding white canes for the visually impaired.

There are special shops that sell such sticks and canes. In Karachi they are available mainly at Lucky Star. Meanwhile, five other shops in the city focus on the other sticks. Three of them are situated at Empress Market. And for some strange reason all are owned by the same family. Their main shop, facing Jahangir Park on the main road has been selling walking sticks since before Partition. “My great grandfather started it all, selling walking sticks to the gora,” says Mateen Shah of Mubeen Shah Stick Merchants.

Introducing a little five-year-old nephew at the shop, he said he was the sixth generation who would be running the shop in the future. The shop, though not too big in size, has all kinds of sticks and canes, even the orthopaedic ones and the white canes.

Mateen Shah says that the most popular sticks at his shop are the Pakistani sticks. “At Rs80 a piece, they are very cheap. And there are sturdy and dependable, too,” he says.

“But these days China is in competition with everything so we also have the China-made walking sticks that may not be as sturdy as the local variety but are very pretty to look at,” he adds, bringing out one with a handle which lights up as a torch. “The handle opens up to fit three pencil battery cells.”

The most expensive walking stick in the shop is worth Rs450 and made in China. But there are so many others that cost far less such as the shiny metal ones, carved wooden ones, ivory-finish ones, etc. And most of them are locally-made.

The shopkeeper says that most of his walking stick customers are elderly people looking for a graceful support. “But yes, there are others, too, who just want it as a fashion accessory.”

Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2016