Zafar Akbar`s office at PTV`s Karachi studios is sort of a Sajna da dera you will always find there a couple of known and unknown people chatting on society, arts and other subjects. But even the unknown ones are not ordinary souls. This I realized during one of my recent visits.

As Zafar left the office for a while on a call, I tried to pick up a conversation with the elderly man sitting next to me whom Zafar had greeted as Khan Sahib. On my request for introduction, the reticent man said that his name was Lal Mohammad and he played flute. As the conversation progressed, he told me that he had also composed music for some films. When I asked him to name a few, he began with Jaag Utha Insan.

I was dumbfounded. The humble man was Lal Mohammad of the famous Lal Mohammad-Iqbal duo, the composers of Dunya kisi ke pyar main jannat say kam nahi, one of the most popular ghazals sung by Mehdi Hasan.

Jaag Utha Insan had another memorable song, Ay watan hum hain teri shama ke parwanon main, written by Josh Malihabadi. The movie tells the story of Qadir Bukhsh alias Qadoo Makrani, a bandit-turned-freedom fighter of the colonial era who left the Indian state of Gujarat for Karachi where he died. He was buried in Mewashah graveyard.

The conversation reminded me that these movies were made during the heydays of Pakistani cinema when Karachi, with its Eastern and Modern studios, was a major centre of film-making, besides Lahore. Some of these movies depicted Sindhi culture, such as Aag ka darya, based on the life of a bandit, whose hit song Man ja man ja balam man ja borrows its tune from Shah Abdul Latif`s Kohyari raga. Others portrayed the pain of migrants felt by those coming from India after the Partition.

The movies not only showed glimpses of life in the city by the seashore, such as scenes of donkey races or the lifestyle of the fishermen`s community, but also hinted at the transformation the metropolis was going through.

What can describe this metamorphosis more aptly than the fact that before the demise of the Karachi film industry, the last lease of life was provided to it by the production of Pushto movies.—Abbas Jalbani

`Don`t abuse it`

On a recent journey from one end of the city to another (an arduous task) by public coach, as is my wont, I read all the signs and billboards the eye can catch and sure enough, I found some extremely interesting and amusing signs along the chosen route.

In this particular case I happened to be crossing the Sunset Boulevard, where all along the centre island dividing the road were signs cautioning drivers on the safety of driving. One sign read `Speed thrills but kills` (as if the youth care), while another said `Fasten seat belts while driving` (unheard of here), while yet another stated `Do not use mobiles while driving` (unheeded advice). Then there are the newly-built bus shelters (kudos to the CDGK) all over the city with neat plastic and glass panelling which has a pleasant aesthetic appearance on the environs of the cit. But what caught my rapt attention was the sign on the shelters saying `Bus shelter use it do not abuse it.`

The public service message is appreciated, but the question arises as citizens of this metropolis, do we need to be reminded of our civic duty and manners? Sadly though, it is a well-known fact that we still are not educated enough to carry out our civic duties. As a result of which the telephone booths, public toilets and pedestrian bridges that we do have are seldom left intact.

It`s not only during violent protests that things go wrong, but it seems that we tend to damage public property even in normal days, regardless of the fact that the public property is there to serve us.

The only question remains when will we ever learn?—Farhan Babar

A glance into the kitchen

Being a born-again bachelor, most of the time I have to fend for myself as far as my culinary needs are concerned, except for when I go to my siblings` place or cousins`, where I can get home-cooked food.

It so happens that I consider myself a connoisseur of good food but given the exorbitant rise in living, it is not possible to lunch and dine at upscale restaurants or even fast food joints these days.

So I have no other choice but to frequent the average class restaurants and eateries in the neighbourhood to sate my pangs of hunger.

Mind you, I am not a snob nor consider it below my dignity to visit these roadside cafes or restaurants, which dish out spicy food of all varieties. But what gets my goat is the fare being prepared is done so under extremely unhygienic conditions.

Most recently, a friend and I went to one such restaurant where the food was reasonable. But upon finishing I went to wash my hands and happened to glance into the kitchen or rather the cleaning area, where a young man was rinsing the used plates with soap and instead of washing them in running water, he was dipping them in a bucket of extremely murky water full of grease stains and thick cooking oil.

I was completely appalled and disgusted with this sight and pointed it out to my friend.

In civilized countries of the world there are checks and balances in the hygiene standards right from that of a five-star restaurant to a delicatessen, where food inspectors are deputed to check cleanliness, hygiene and other important features in the best interest of the public.

I am told that there was a plan on the anvil by the city planners to introduce similar inspectors here, but it probably was shelved before being launched.

As far as Karachians are concerned, I guess they have become inured to the dust laden, fly buzzing, grease stained environment of Karachi eateries, for despite everything, the fare dished up is still a delight for the taste buds.—Syed Ali Anwer

The seventh festival

Last month was marked with a number of international film festivals, including Chicago International Film Festival, Pusan International Film Festival, Rome Film Festival and London Film Festival, which reminded me about the KaraFilm Festival that was scheduled for this November after a gap of almost two years.

The six festivals conducted so far in the city not only brought together film-makers from around the world but also opened new vistas of co-production for India and Pakistan. I remember around 170 films, including a number of Asian premieres, were screened during the ten-day event held last time in December 2006.

Since then many enthusiasts have been eagerly waiting for the seventh festival. But, events beyond control forced the organizers to postpone the festival thrice. This time they have rescheduled it to the first half of February 2009, citing certain unavoidable problems and security concerns.

Only a few Karachians still expect that the organizers will be able to stick to the new schedule, as many others fear that the lingering `unavoidable concerns` might postpone the festival further. But then, there are a few odd art buffs who question the postponement of such an event, arguing that if Angelina Jolie can visit battered Afghanistan, what restrains film-makers from other parts of the world from visiting Karachi.—HA

Compiled by Syed Hassan Ali

karachian@dawn.com