‘Deewaaron ke bhi kaan hotay hain [The walls also have ears],’ goes the Urdu proverb. But here we argue that walls can talk as well. And in a city like Karachi, they talk loudly — often interrupting one another with messages plastered on top of other messages. From solutions to mardaana kamzorian [male infertility/ erectile issues] to political sloganeering, the walls of the city tell a story of their own.
On the one hand, the wall has been associated with discrimination — a way of keeping the unwanted out — but on the other hand, it has also a means of protection. These same walls can also be taken over by the awaam [public] to reflect upon and voice opinions related to politics, religion, ethnicity and culture, and have also been used for putting across commercial messages and showcase artwork.
The various ways in which walls in a city are used for communication can be grouped within the larger head of graffiti. The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines graffiti as “unauthorized writing or drawing on a public surface.” While the Cambridge English Dictionary defines the term as “words or drawings, especially humorous, rude, or political [ones], on walls, doors, etc, in public places.” The notion of ‘public-ness’ becomes important in both these definitions, as something put within a private domain may not qualify as graffiti.
The graffiti on the walls of Karachi has long fascinated us. This fascination led to research in 2019 looking at graffiti in Karachi’s context, its history and continued existence, and the reasons behind the practice. We classified the various types of graffiti into different typologies, and categorized the messages being put across by each typology and the reason for its continued practice.
Karachi’s walls are as loud as the city itself. Replete with commercial messages, political party slogans, graffiti and artworks, these walls are constantly competing for residents’ attention. What are the stories hidden in plain sight on them? And what is the context in which wall chalking has existed for years? Two researchers attempt to find out…
The research focused mainly on wall chalking, which is a particular type of graffiti and an alternate means of communication that is patronized by various local agencies. This type of graffiti reflects upon local social, political and economic processes, and is the dominant form of graffiti existent in the city.
The data for the research was obtained through in depth appraisal of wall chalking in six public locations of Karachi (the area around Quaid-i-Azam’s Mazaar, Saddar, Liaquatabad, Orangi Town, Malir District and Shah Faisal Colony), which corresponded with the six districts of the city. Here, we present some of our findings.
