THERE are some Karachiites who consider honesty, dedication and hard work really worthwhile. These citizens are considerate enough to know that Karachi’s impoverished population needs all the help it can get to eke out a living. They help out, they care. However, some Karachiites live in total oblivion. They could not care less for those who are less fortunate than them. This is not a question of class distinction. What is being referred to here is the difference in mindsets, in attitudes and thinking. Being a part of ‘the Piecemakers’, I came across both these kinds of citizens when we had our first exhibition at the Park Towers this summer.
For those of you who do not know who the Piecemakers are, let me explain before I continue with my story. It is a programme run by the South Asian Research Institute for Development to teach impoverished women the art of American patchwork quilting. It is by no means limited only to impoverished women. Anyone who wants to learn is welcome. The group hopes to make the future of the underprivileged a little better by making them sell quilts and various quilted other items that they can make.
After the programme had been running for almost a year, the group decided to put some handiwork on sale. The option for a suitable venue was limited, owing to a lack of funds because the programme depends entirely on donations.
Organizing an exhibition can be stressful. Making sure that everything should go on sale, the work should finish on time, advertisement of the event should be proper, working out how best to display and set-up etc are some aspects that need special attention. Surviving all these without hurting anyone physically requires patience and a sense of humour. I have to admit, I did lose both, and on the eve of the opening night I became quite cantankerous and offensive.
“Sleep on it.”
I did, but did it help? No.
Tahira, my sister-in-law, and I got up early the next morning to set things up. We had a good time putting up quilts and laying out cushions. We were ready for our customers. We sat behind our tables flashing huge smiles to passersby, hoping they would approach us. The smiles worked, but not in the way we had hoped. Soon enough we had people walking up to us and asking: “Why is Maria B closed?”
Maria B! We are trying to sell quilts made by women of Katchi Abadi. Do we look like we know why Maria B is closed?
I tell you it was disappointing. If I had researched our location, I would really have been able to help out the shoppers at the mall. We knew nothing, had no clue about where the Internet cafe was located, or where various boutiques were.
Luckily by early evening we were being noticed. People came to talk to us about our mission and our work. We were able to sell a few cushion covers and tee-shirts, which was nothing to write home about, but good for a start. All sorts of people were approaching us, some looking for cheap bargains, while others inquiring about our organization.
However, what could I possibly say to the lady, who picked up a bunch of safety pins off our table and asked, “Is say choti size ki pins nahin hai?”
Women’s empowerment was a great issue to chinwag about. Most men cringed at the thought of wearing a tee-shirt which said “Empowering women for a better future.” One man said, “Empowering women? They already have more than they need.”
“What do women need with power anyway, all they do during the day is cook one salan and clean,” he added calmly trying to make a perfect point. The male population was not the only one to be sceptical of our vision. Some women came up and looked at our slogan and laughed. They thought we were promoting some kind of a pervert act, and they assured that they would play no part in it.
As I lay out the ‘negatives’ of our journey, I must mention the ‘positives’ too, which seemed to balance the situation out. We had very optimistic approaches. A girl from Tyler, Texas bought one of our quilts to take back to the United States to show Americans what a wonderful job the girls in the Katchi Abadi were doing. Another lady praised us and questioned why we did not publicize more, because after all, this was a worthy cause. A couple of lady doctors asked if they could help us out with women’s health issues. Men as well as women offered advice on how we could move ahead. These are the people that boost our spirits.
We managed to sell a fair amount of cushion covers and a few quilts. We also made friends who offered excellent advice and at the end of the day we had a feeling that we had achieved something.
THERE are some Karachiites who consider honesty, dedication and hard work really worthwhile. These citizens are considerate enough to know that Karachi’s impoverished population needs all the help it can get to eke out a living. They help out, they care. However, some Karachiites live in total oblivion. They could not care less for those who are less fortunate than them. This is not a question of class distinction. What is being referred to here is the difference in mindsets, in attitudes and thinking. Being a part of ‘the Piecemakers’, I came across both these kinds of citizens when we had our first exhibition at the Park Towers this summer.
