Farewell CLF 2014 -An Overview

By Sarah B. Haider 

   

The third day of the Children’s Literature Festival Karachi marked the end of this year’s fête. A huge number of teachers, students and parents attended the festival with full zest and fervour.

The enthusiasm of the students, teachers and parents can be gauged from the fact that everyone was punctual and people started coming to Arts Council as early as 9.00 am on a Saturday!

Since it was a free public event, people from different backgrounds came to attend it. Though there were many sessions that were specifically aimed for teachers, students from all age groups enthusiastically participated in them. For instance, the session on “Addressing conflict through interactive reading”, “Innovative teaching methods,” and “Session on ICT”, were largely attended by children who not only listened to the discussions intently but also participated in them.

Miss Amna, an O level teacher present at the event said, “I really liked the session on Innovative Teaching Methods by Nusrat Ali. The different creative methods of teaching that he came up with were excellent and are sure to help teachers if they adopt them in their classes.”

The festival not only hosted various interactive session, theatres, musical and dance performance, painting activity, storytelling sessions, but also held a book fair. A large number of people, both kids and adults, visited the book stalls and bought the books of their choices.

“I came here to attend the festival with my friends, but I ended up buying a few books for myself. One can find all kinds of books here at the book stalls, ranging from story books to general knowledge books. However, I think they are pretty expensive”, said Faiza, a student from Army Public School, Karachi.

Among the sessions, the storytelling and theatres turned out to be the most popular among kids. The performers and storytellers did an excellent job by keeping the audience engaged from the start till the end. Keeping young children focused is not an easy task, but organisers did a wonderful job.

“The story telling and sing-song sessions conducted by Toffee TV were amazing. The presenters narrated the stories in such an intriguing manner that children as well as adults were completely absorbed in the story. I am sure the kids as well as all the teachers and parents here have thoroughly enjoyed the sessions,” stated Fatima, a primary teacher from the City School who came to attend the festival.

Similarly, the theatrical performances conducted by NAPA, Thespianz Theatre, students of AMI School and Gripps Theatre were simply outstanding.

“I really loved the theatre Chilghozay aur mozay. It kept all the students from my class totally engaged in the play. Children of Karachi need more such events to take place,” said Anam, a student from Happy Home School.

Hamza, an 11-year-old student happily expressed, “I loved the play “Ali Baba Chalees Chor”, organised by NAPA. I have read the story but the performance was so amazing that I will always remember the story word to word. Usually when my friends and I gather for some recreational activity, we make a lot of noise together for the sake of fun, but this story was so good that all of us watched it quietly.”

Though, the festival was dominated by school kids and teachers, many housewives and fathers also came to attend the festival.

Mrs. Arsalan, a housewife who has recently come to Pakistan from the UAE said, “It is indeed a very healthy activity for kids. In a city like Karachi, where every now and then something bad is happening and schools get shut down, children need something constructive like this so that they can get away from their suffocating routines and engage themselves in something positive”.

Likewise, Mr Anjum, a businessman who specially came to attend the festival with his 10-year-old son said, “The Children’s Literature Festival organised by Oxford University Press is indeed a very positive step to educate children.”

Mr Anjum was of the view that such literary activities for children could be a splendid way to spread awareness among children about Urdu and English literature, including drama and theatre. It can also open new avenues for children to participate in theatres when they grow up.

Carrying around 15 books in his hands that he bought for his son from the book fair, he further said, “I want my son to become a big fan of reading. Such literary events can inculcate reading habits in all children and should be conducted more often.”

The article was published here.

Mountains of Waste

The Himalayas, without a shadow of doubt, are one of the most beautiful tourist spots in the world. From snow-covered peaks to breathtaking hill stations and valleys to awe-inspiring flora and fauna to the tranquil aura surrounding the entire region, the Himalayas are surely a glimpse of heaven on earth. They are popular for their scenic beauty and are also home to some of the loftiest peaks in the world, including the famous Mount Everest.

Every year, the Himalayas attract thousands of tourists from all over the world who come to the region for sightseeing and trekking. Living in magnificent surroundings and waking up to such a spectacular panorama is certainly a dream come true for any tourist. The images of the Himalayas that appear online, in magazines and on television are enough to convince anyone that no place could be more wonderful than this.

Sadly, however, for the people of Nepal, the country’s pride – the incredibly striking mountain ranges – are fast becoming a rubbish dump. The high levels of pollution are damaging the splendor of the mighty Himalayas.

According to estimates, around 35,000 tourists, including expedition teams, visit the Everest region every year. With the ever-growing number of tourists in the mountains there is also an increase in heaps of beer and soft drink cans, empty mineral water bottles and other waste material. Tourists throw litter without thinking twice about its impact on the environment in the long run.

Some decades back, there was hardly any garbage on the mountains. But in recent years, every village in the Himalayas can be seen littered with plastic all the way up to the Everest base camp. This is because previously, there were no more than a score of mountaineering expeditions and less than a hundred trekkers visiting the Himalayas every year. Today, the annual number of expeditions has grown to over 200 and of trekkers to over 50,000. To top it off, there have been no arrangements in Nepal to treat the waste as there is no developed recycling industry there.

This is not all. Like in many other parts of the world, the Himalayas are also facing the negative effects of global warming. Over the years, wrong models of development, an improper use of resources, changing lifestyles and modern consumerism has led to environmental pollution as well as resource depletion. As a result, the glaciers in the Himalayas are rapidly melting. This impact of global warming in the Himalayas will have devastating consequences both for the environment and the human population.

In order to tackle this situation and to lessen the alarming intensity of environmental pollution, a ‘Zero Waste Himalayas’ campaign was initiated by groups and individuals across the Himalayan Mountain region. The campaign was launched with the technical guidance of Thanal – an environmental organization based in Kerala, India, that works for the alleviation of problems related to public interest, particularly environment, agriculture and livelihood generation.

Started in 2010, the ‘Zero Waste Himalayas’ initiative is aimed at promoting ethical, efficient and economic resource use and resource recovery in the Himalayan region. Its main aim is to make the Himalayas waste-free and make Nepal plastic-free. The campaign has attracted people from all walks of life, including native Nepali people, tour operators, government officials, mountaineering experts and environment representatives from across the globe. The initiative calls for an urgent need to devise a waste management strategy to achieve its goals.

According to research conducted by the Solid Waste Management Technical Support Centre (SWMTSC) in Nepal, about 170 metric tons of waste is generated annually in the Mount Everest region. Out of this, plastic accounts for 21 percent of the waste, paper and cardboard 22 percent, metal and glass 13 percent, textiles four percent and foodstuffs, human waste and bodies account for the remaining.

The poor management of waste and the excessive use of plastic bags pose a serious risk to the environment as well as public health in the country.

Though the campaign was started with great enthusiasm and fervor, there were a number of challenges – both on the macro and the community level – that had to be tackled first. For instance, when seen at a macro level, Nepal has faced political instability for decades and hence waste management has never been a priority for the establishment. Similarly, there was an absence of proper laws or policies that could tackle environmental issues and neither were there any punishments for the violation of environmental laws.

Another big hurdle was the lack of funding for environmental initiatives. At a micro level, issues such as lack of information and awareness of environmental concerns, lack of access to TV or radio or other media due to poverty and lack of integrated voices in civil society about environment etc., hindered the campaign from its very outset.

However, through various seminars, conferences and activities, the initiative addressed the challenges and formulated solutions from time to time. Since its inception in 2010, the ‘Zero Waste Himalayas’ campaign has continued with full zeal and enthusiasm. Every year, the campaigners hold various activities and continue to work to make the issue of waste and climate change in the Himalayan region a global priority and summon more organizations and individuals who can commit to learning and taking action towards making the Himalayas a waste-free region.

The article was published here.

Mangrove forests in Pakistan: An asset fast depleting

By Sarah B. Haider

Natural resources are surely an asset for a country. This is especially true for forests, because forests and biodiversity are key to all forms of life. This is because they pave way for greater opportunities for people in terms of medical discoveries, economic development and greater adaptability to climatic change. Unfortunately, in Pakistan, only about 4.8 percent of land is covered with forests, which is far below the optimal standard of 25 percent for a country. Despite the low percentage of forests in Pakistan, deforestation continues to take place countrywide, thus posing great threats, such as desertification, flooding and endangering of wildlife.

This particularly pertains to the mangrove forests, found in the Indus Delta and coastal areas of Arabian Sea around the coast of Karachi and Pasni in Balochistan. These forests are immensely important in many ways, and their depletion is causing a variety of problems, not only to the environment but also to the country, at large.

Discussed below are some of the advantages of mangroves, along with the devastating impact the removal of these forests causes.

Destruction of natural habitat

Packed with life, mangroves provide a natural habitat to a huge number of micro organisms, insects and snakes, birds and various mammals. Not only this, these forests provide a physical breeding ground to different sea creatures like fish, crabs and shrimps and mollusk species. These fisheries make up an indispensable source of food for thousands of coastal communities around the world. In Pakistan, these forests provide a main source of earning to local fishermen. However, because of the increase in pollution and the reduction of forest cover, fishermen are compelled travel far-off inside the sea, which makes them susceptible to be caught by the Indian Navy.

Scarcity of migratory birds

During winters, a huge number of migratory birds come and nest in these forests to breed. Earlier, various bird species like ospreys, wood storks, a variety of herons and egrets, bald eagles, cormorants, brown pelicans, ibis and roseate spoonbills, etc. used to visit the mangroves on a yearly basis. However, over the past few years, the number of guest birds has greatly reduced because of the destruction of these forests in Pakistan.

Economic importance

Economically, they are of immense importance too, because Mangroves are a great source of timber, fuel, railroad ties and tannin. Also, commercial mangrove production is necessary for the construction of boats, houses and furniture. Moreover, mangrove plants are largely used for medicinal purposes. For instance, extracts from mangroves and mangrove-dependent species are extensively used as effective medicines against human, animal and plant pathogens. These plant species are also used to treat many skin diseases, including leprosy, with ashes or bark infusions of certain species of mangrove.

Natural barriers to storms and tsunamis

Mangroves act as natural barriers in protecting coastal communities and urban centers from tsunamis and storms. This is because these forests slow down the flow of water and prevent soil erosion. They also help in reducing sedimentation in the sea. Lately, Tsunamis have become a real menace for Karachi and since mangrove trees are being ruthlessly chopped, it can aggravate the situation further in case of an uninvited coastal storm.

No tourism

Unlike many other countries of the world, Pakistan has failed to tap into the tourism potential of mangrove forests. Because of the rich diversity of life, these forests have been popular tourist attractions which Pakistan could utilise as a source of revenue generation.

Despite the fact that mangroves are of immense economic and environmental importance to Pakistan, over the last five decades, they are being subjected to over exploitation and massive population pressure, and hence, these precious forests are fading away fast.  It is high time the concerned authorities took action to preserve these precious forests before they become extinct.

The article was published here.

Wazir mansion: A walk into the past

By Ayesha Ahmed & Sarah B. Haider

Sitting amid a busy commercial area, precisely on Barkati Street, Haji Sharif Balwani Road, off M A Jinnah Road near Meriwether Tower, Kharadar, Karachi, stands out an edifice like no other in its vicinity.

Overlooking the tall, ancient buildings of the British era, Wazir Mansion, the house, where Quaid-i-Azam, Mohammad Ali Jinnah was born and raised, is one of the prized landmarks our nation possesses.

As one enters the dimly lit mansion, one is bound to travel into the past. An aura of antiquity, that is inherent to the building, captivates them.

History

The parents of the Quaid-i-Azam, Jinnah Bhai Poonja and Sakina Bano, moved to Karachi during the late 20^th Century from their ancestral village Paneli (Gujrat, India) and acquired two rooms on the first floor of this two-storey building constructed during the Colonial period.

On the auspicious day of 25^th December, 1876, the founder of our homeland and the great Muslim leader of the 20^th century was born here. When the Quaid-i-Azam left for London, in 1892, for higher studies, his parents and siblings were still residing in this house. However, after the birth of Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah, the house was sold and the Quaid’s family rented another big house in Ramhee Patia building, Khori Garden, Karachi.

As for the ownership of the mansion and the origination of its name, it is said that Gowardhan Das was also among the owners of this building. From him, Wazir Ali Poonawala, by whom this house had got its name, Wazir Mansion, bought it sometime in the 1940s.

The Quaid-i-Azam and his sister, Fatima Jinnah, were both born in the Wazir Mansion. As a matter of fact, he spent over sixteen years of his life, along with his entire family in the very house.  Before the mansion was turned into a museum, the ground floor was not a part of the house but consisted of different shops. During early-1953, the government of Pakistan purchased this building and on the 14^th of August that very year, the house was converted into a museum. From then onwards, the site was opened for public.

Security measures

After the tragic attack on the residency of the Quiad-i-Azam in Ziarat, Balochistan, on the 15^th of June, 2013, the Sindh government ensured to take adequate security measures and to this end, rangers have been deployed outside the building. A round-the-clock surveillance is provided to this structure to counter any potential terrorist attacks.

Preservation

As with any ancient building that is prone to wear and tear over the passage of time, maintenance and repair is essential. Hence, the walls and pillars of the Wazir Mansion have been built out of stone masonry in lime and jute mortar. This revamping, which is carried out from time to time, has rendered the building its sturdiness and durability. This is the reason why it has managed to exist since hundreds of years providing support to the building. Also, the building material used is capable of efficiently fighting the volatile weather of Karachi.

Moreover, apart from the custodian of Wazir Mansion who oversees all the affairs related to the building, there are nine other staffers who take care of different parts of the mansion. From cleaning to fumigation, archiving of books to looking after the furniture, and attending to the visitors, they are always present to execute their duties.

After the government of Pakistan purchased the building, they completed all the urgent and necessary repairs and handed the building to the Department of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Pakistan, on the 13^th of August, 1953. This step was taken under the 18^th Amendment of the Constitution of Pakistan.

Furthermore, in 2004, a project worth Rs 25.037 million was initiated for the evaluation, strengthening, preservation and rehabilitation of the edifice. These activities were carried out to revert back the birthplace of the Quaid-i-Azam to its original form by the department of Archaeology and Museums. The project was duly completed in 2010.

Problems

Wazir Mansion is a heritage site. Being the place of birth of the founder of Pakistan, the building is an asset for the country. Sadly, however, the surrounding areas of Wazir Mansion are in shambles so much so that one cannot even envisage it. Heaps of garbage is dumped near the building, situated in a very congested area. During the monsoon season, the condition worsens because the road is steeped and gutter water accumulates outside, making it extremely difficult for people to go in and out of the museum. Also, the building is located in an area which is not easy to find. There are no sign boards that could direct people towards the building and since the area is so jam-packed, people often get lost when finding the place.

Visitors

On the 25^th of December, a lot of people come to visit the building. Though the number of visitors has sharply decreased over the years due to various reasons, many patriotic people pay a visit to the mansion. Earlier, a lot of foreigners used to come and visit these places but with the passage of time, the number has become scarce.

The display galleries

After the completion of the project in the year 2010, the Wazir Mansion was turned into a museum comprising three storeys: a ground floor with a library and a Reading Room, the first and the second floor.

The first floor was where Jinnah was born. The museum has his personal furniture, used by the Quaid as the First Governor General of Pakistan, on display. These include his office chair, dressing table, a bed and a writing chair. Also, there are two shelves that house hundreds of Jinnah’s law books –all present in pristine condition. The historical impression of this place not only mesmerises the visitors but also leaves them inquisitive to delve deeper into the life of the great leader.

On the second floor of the museum, the gallery displays various belongings of the Quaid. These include the personal furniture of his wife, Maryam Jinnah (Rattanbai Petit), smoking pipe, a walking stick, Muslim League badges, his neck ties, his court dress, his shoes and many other personal possessions gifted to the museum by Jinnah’s sister, Shireen Jinnah.

Published in The News Supplement, 25 December, 2014