KARACHI: There’s nothing novel about the political turmoil in Pakistan — though the morally indecent garb it has put on lately is something that’s shocking. The economic difficulties that the country is faced with are also something that should be dealt with in a plausible manner so that relief could be provided to the common man as soon as possible.

In such bleak circumstances, the one bright ray of hope is the cultural facet of Pakistan led by its demographically largest city, Karachi. In this day and age, where Fifth Generation Warfare, arguably, has assumed more significance than conventional battles, it is a silver lining in a dark cloud. And, again, what needs to be realised is that the city by the sea is leading the way.

Ever since Covid restrictions have been lifted (read: the year 2022) Karachi has been hosting a variety of events at its spaces such as the Arts Council, the Karachi Press Club and Frere Hall. Some of the recent examples are the holding of the 15th International Urdu Conference (Dec 1-4) and the 4th Adab Festival (Nov 26 and 27). They were organised on a large scale.

On a lesser scale in terms of logistics, the Karachi Press Club (KPC) has been organising mushairas and qawwali nights pretty regularly. Take the example of the mushairaarranged in memory of Jaun Elia.

Adab Festival took place at Frere Hall. It had a certain element of newness to it because the sprawling lawns of the historic Frere Hall as well as its neo-Gothic building had seldom been used for an event of a big magnitude.

The Urdu Conference at the Arts Council was a massive success in terms of audience participation keeping in mind some of the purely literature-heavy sessions that are a staple of the event. The council arranged a Music Festival (Nov 18-20), too, whose last day was marked by the thousands of people that tried to listen to live music but couldn’t get a look-in due to the already chock-a-block open air arena.

The Karachi Biennale 22 (Oct 31-Nov 13) was another important event. International and Pakistani artists put their artworks on display at nine venues in the city, some of which were exceptionally brilliant.

To carry on in a similar vein, this year (2023) in February the much-awaited Karachi Literature Festival’s 14th iteration will take place.

These are no small examples. They hint at a significant fact: rain or shine, Karachi doesn’t compromise on its cultural richness which stems from its ethno-linguistic diversity. It is for those who hold the reins of this country or call the shots where shots need to be called, to understand that in a world where Nobel, Oscar and Booker winners mould people’s opinions, Pakistan’s culture — as our films and TV series have indicated last year — can be effectively used to put across a message across the globe that we are a society no less artistically and intellectually vibrant than any other on the face of earth. Political turmoil and economic strife do not induce our growth — culture does.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2023