Karachi is a dynamic City, says US professor

KARACHI - Dr Kanta Kochhar Lindgren, an associate professor of Washington University, the US visited City Naib Nazims Secretariat at old KMC building along with US Consulate General Public Affairs Officer Elizabeth Coloton and called on City Naib Nazim Nasreen Jalil here on Tuesday. Dr Kanta was invited by the Naib Nazim to deliver a lecture at City Institute of Image Management (CIIM) in a workshop titled Arts and Cultural Diversity. Nasreen Jalail welcomed both the guest and informed them about the rapid development projects for art and culture in the country. She told Dr Kanta that Karachi City is most the important City of the country, having a rich diversities in art and culture due to presence of number of communities and nationalities living here. The naib nazim said that the incumbent City government executed massive development work in all sectors including health, education, water, sanitation, sewerage, transport, environment, construction of flyovers and underpasses. She said that after completing the big task of bringing improvement in the infrastructure and provision of best civic facilities to citizens, now the CDGK is focusing to promote art and culture. Nasreen Jalil also informed them about the working of local government and progress of city council members. During the meeting director of Thespians Theatre Faisal Malik was also present. Later, Dr Kanta Kocchar Lindgren who is visiting Pakistan these days as an American cultural envoy addressed the workshop Art and Culture Diversity. She told the audience that the disability rights issue in the United States grew out of the civil rights movement. She said the Universal Declaration of Human Rights did not mention the rights of the disabled and it has been only during the last two years that the United Nations has started addressing the issue. She said many of us came of age during the civil rights movement adding there were many ways of communicating so she went on to develop an interesting art and worked for the national theatre of the deaf and did some research on it. I worked for the concept called the third ear, she said. What is the possibility of another way of hearing, of listening, she said. She said it was an experience with senses chords and its extra space. She said her work was on people who were deaf and who were cross-culture. I have to work at a different speed with them if they are deaf or different, she said. Can you create a space for a different kind of exchange? she asked. Critical reasoning is important but critical reasoning is not everything, she said. She said she had a very positive impact of her Karachi Citys visit. She said she visited Indus Art Galley, Art Council of Pakistan and other centres of art and culture and found many talented people in the City. Its a very dynamic City and I am honoured and appeased to be here, she said. She said it would be wonderful if Pakistan and American universities have exchange programmes. We would like to see more exchanges, she said. She was of the view that some partnership could be materialized in the realm of arts at university level, some thing cross-university. Speaking on the occasion, Nasreen Jalil said that MQM was a progressive and secular party that was inculcating tolerance. We are trying to change the system and mindset, she said. She said that feudal mindset does not work in Karachi and one of the indicators was that there were tens of thousands of working women in the City. Your very presence here proves that the City is not so violence-prone, she said. Instead, it is involved in many good things. She said that City Nazim Mustafa Kamal and his team have worked day and night to develop the City and promote art and culture, keeping the extremist elements at a bay. She said the main issue in Pakistan today was gender discrimination despite the fact that 51 per cent of the population comprises women. We reject Talibanisation, we dont want to be another Afghanistan, she remarked. Only art and culture can keep us away from Talibanisation, she said. The US Consulate Public Affairs Officer said in the US there were many clubs and individuals that take the responsibility of cleaning the roads. They dont get paid for it, she hastened to add. The entire neighbourhood, thousands of people would take the responsibility at their own, she said. Later, the guests were enthralled by the dance performances by eminent artist and classical dancer Sheema Kermani, Huma Naz and Babar.