A Tale of Two Cities

[Photo Credit Riaz Khan]

It is not surprising that Karachi and Houston, two cities that I have considered home for almost the last four decades, are “sister cities”.  

Just last year, I was introduced to the Sister Cities of Houston program. At times I wonder why the program doesn’t refer to the cities as ‘brother’ cities or ‘cousin’ cities? Could it be that sisters are more pleasantly inclined towards each other in comparison to other relatives, and hence the sisterly link even for cities is more enduring? 

The questions take away from the real thrust of this essay. What earthly comparison can even exist between the presumably volatile and anarchic city of Karachi, Pakistan, and the oil and gas hunger-driven megapolis of Houston, Texas?

At face value not much of an analogous situation exists.

Digging deeper into this juxtaposition, however, you might realize that both urban locales are burgeoning in similar fashion!

Here are a few similarities:

·         Karachi is expanding its highways, high rises, malls, restaurants, as well as facilities for outdoor activities. Houston, too, is expanding much beyond its current suburbs, incorporating more land, building up more commercial ventures, and so on.

·         Both cities have horrible traffic jams, and a plethora of gas guzzlers exist in both metropolises (i.e., trucks on Houston highways; the ‘prados’ (SUV’s) on Karachi highways.

·         Both cities have great medical institutions: those in Houston are primarily based in the world renowned Texas Medical Center, while Karachi is home to the Aga Khan University, one of the strongest and most prestigious organizations not just in Pakistan, but in the entire South Asian region.

·         Both cities suffer from massively disorganized and ugly encroachments and buildings.    

·         Both cities suffer significant criminal activity (on multiple levels): theft, physical and sexual assault, bribery and extortion.

In order to provide a more balanced view I feel compelled to mention a single striking difference between the two places: there’s a much higher likelihood of being caught in cross-fire in Karachi. Armed mafias, gang warfare, hostilities fueled by varying political ideologies, religious extremism, and religious and ethnic intolerance all rear their ugly heads frequently.

Consider the flip side: the aforementioned also exists in Houston, though cloaked in hypocrisy and diplomacy. So what would you rather have?

Karachi is Karachi: what you see is what you get. Despite the lack of control feeling that many citizens of this urban jungle might feel, from an ‘outsider’s’ perspective, life can really be lived in Karachi to the utmost. One’s work in Karachi therefore takes on a different dimension. As the saying goes, “Life gets more precious when there’s less of it to waste.” 

There exists a tremendous amount of human resource in Karachi which is largely untapped. Doing so might be linked to positive social changes. There are people and institutions in and out of Karachi that are working indefatigably towards improving the lot of all living there and elsewhere; irrespective of their degree of wealth, sickness, literacy, and so on. This is a tribute to the resilience of Karachi and its inhabitants.

[Photo Credit Riaz Khan]

Perhaps it is just a city by the sea that happens to fascinate and frustrate you no end.

Perhaps it is just a city that happens to uplift you and then dash your hopes within the next few hours.

Thus, dear reader, love it or leave it (the latter, only if you have a greener passport), becomes a truism of sorts.

And to that I add, return to it if and when needed...

[from the Karachi-Houston Diaries]