KARACHI: It is praiseworthy, by any stretch of the imagination, that certain groups are trying their best to give a facelift to Karachi’s shabby infrastructural look through a number of measures. One of them is to paint the city’s walls which are usually sprayed with political and religious slogans or used for free advertisements of certain products that may not find advertisers in the mainstream media. One example is the wall near Rashid Minhas Road, where old graffiti on them was washed off and beautiful images inspired by nature’s munificence were painted.

Similar attempts are being made in certain other parts of the city, one of which is the wall along Hoshang Road. The images painted by a group of artists, representing the Vasl Artists Collective led by Shahana Munawar, are striking both in composition and subject matter. Not only do they have tremendous visual appeal by virtue of delightful images of flowers, trees and birds, but they carry subtle messages, requesting citizens to keep their city dirt-free. The line ‘Podon se zindagi’ (which means plants give life, or plants are life-giving) accompanying silhouetted pictures of a tree and children, needs special mention. Karachi does need nature to smile on it.

However, and one is sure that it has nothing to do with the artists community, stopping by at the place to have a look at the wonderful work of art evokes a mixed feeling, because while the walls have been beautified, it is the dug-out pavement and its manholes which dilute, if not destroy, the positive, refreshing impact created by the lovely array of colours on the wall. Definitely, it is for the authorities concerned, especially since the area one is referring to is close to Chief Minister House, to make sure that the efforts made by the artists do not go in vain.

Talking to Dawn, Shahana Munawar said: “It took us 12 days to finish the project. Even when we were working, the gaping manholes were there, so what we did was that we covered them with planks of wood, cleaned the pavement, and painted the walls. In the evening we would be swarmed by mosquitoes. We wanted the gutters to be permanently closed but unless there were orders to that effect, we couldn’t do anything. I feel sad because the public was very happy to see the wall. So it would be good if the gutters were covered.”

Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2016