REVIEW: A Continuous Survival in an INSTANT CITY |
| Written by Roger Steinberg • November 2011 |
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What makes any city dynamic? It’s people, its culture, its economics, its politics, or its social structure? Perhaps all of the above. As the sun rose on December 28, 2009, the inhabitants of Karachi – the economic heart of a complex nation like Pakistan – had no idea what was in store for them. By dusk, dozens lay dead on the streets as a suicide bomber targeted the Shi’ite procession, causing millions in damages and millions more in outrage and terror.
But this was no ordinary day. Shi’ite procession happens every year. Every year people take to the streets to peacefully commemorate the anniversary of the holiest day in Shi’ite Islam – the death of the Prophet’s grandson. There is nothing extra-ordinary about this day since people around the world from Indonesia to Iran to the United States, remember this day in their own manner. But the problem on Dec. 28th, 2009 was that some zealot orthodox Sunni Islamists took it upon themselves to make a political statement by targeting the largest minority in the Pakistan. An act that instantly brought the past and the future to collide in Karachi. The title could not have been more appropriate for Steve Inskeep’s new book. INSTANT CITY is a dissection of Karachi and the peeling away of its various intertwining complicated layers – almost a study that has never been fully attempted before. By focusing on that daunting day for all Karachi-ittes, Inskeep scales his camera back and paints a lucid picture of the history of the coastal city and how it’s transformed and evolved into the religious, economical, financial, social, educational, and political hub for the entire Nation. It’s a dangerous place according to Inskeep where all these forces continuously collide but try to negotiate their own space for the simple aim of survival. And that is what fuels Karachi today; mere survival. Inskeep calls Karachi the New York of Pakistan for the sole reason: that it developed and evolved due to the immigrants who flooded the sleepy Hindu dominated coastal city of ‘Kolachi’ after the 1947 Partition. Like the American Dream, people for some sixty years have been immigrating to the metropolis to make a reasonable living, to shine, to get a better education, to strike gold, to make a name for themselves, and most importantly to survive. So even as the sun set on Dec 28th and the media rhetoric took on a more religious tone, what’s most interesting to note in the Inskeep’s work is his rare glimpse into the sub-themes like financial ruin, real-estate damage, psychological neurosis, political campaigns, and stories of people who just want to live day-to-day. These intertwining forces are what makes Karachi a very complicated city to understand. Thankfully, we have a guide now.
 Roger Steinberg has spent the last 5 years touring Central Asia, investigating the history and organizational structure of the Sufi Darvīsh. He studies history at George Washington University and has written extensively on the history and art of the Middle-East. He is currently interested in the cultural and philosophical exchange between the Muslim and Jewish communities of Central and Near Asia during the middle-ages. Comments (0)
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