Karachi is huge. Huge enough that even an experienced rickshaw-driver sometimes has to make complete fool of himself in front of the passenger before dropping him at the asked location. I have just shifted to Karachi from Hyderabad under a week ago. During my short stay, I have realized being a karachiittie is more demanding than I had anticipated.

First off, I faced the issue of water for which I was mentally prepared so even the fact that it was the first time I was purchasing water for household purpose did not move me one bit. I have made peace with it for water tankers have penetrated so deeply in Karachi. But what caught me napping was to learn that a city so welcoming to everyone has no place to fix signboards of the locations of its own. Karachi, being the financial hub of the country, is rightly called the land of opportunity. Many regularly pour into the city in the quest of a better fortune; so was I couple of days ago.

I was called for an interview but by the time I reached there, I was twenty minutes too late. It’s because the rickshaw driver had to turn to peoples to come to terms with the stop I asked him to drop me. It would not be fair blaming the driver for that because Karachi is too big a city to be familiarized like back of the hand. I suppose drought of signboards in the city was the reason I could not make it in time.

Likewise, many newbies turn to the city aiming the similar; same goes for them. If the government can’t guarantee them a lightening-fast transport then at least it should knock sign and direction boards around the megacity to ease things a bit for them.

VASDEV,

Tharparkar, October 5.