When Faisal Qureshi first spoke to me about this picture my initial reaction was that of indifference, as Pepsi cola Pakistan did construct this monument in the first place. However upon seeing it I am stuck inbetween a feeling or revulsion and disdain.
Why must we treat our monuments this way? If we are so hell bent in making everything commercial why make a monument at all? Why not have a giant pepsi bottle on allah wali chowrangi instead?
As for people who are going to say that this is not a national monument. Allah wali chowrangi was named thus for a reason folks.
To see it turn into Blue Allah Wali chowrangi does something to you. It makes you cringe as yet another symbol of Karachi is consumed at the alter of commercialism!!
ah and the first thing i noticed about this picture was the fresh coat of blue paint 😉
Jokes aside though, I was flipping through our local tv channels yesterday and every single song (not naat, not hamd) but songs–rock, pop, rap, etc had some verse with a chanty “allah allah” in it. Lets face it, “Allah” or “God” is big business. And why not? It sells. Religion is being used as a big fat cash cow and the sad part is, it ain’t anything new. Its actually been that way since religion was “invented”.
That is true, religion has been used for commercial purposes for a very long time. Sad part is, people do not speak up against it. Not just are we letting commercial giants use religion as an excuse to take over the buildings and monuments that are there, but we are also compromising our city’s architecture. Gone are the days when people used to admire a building’s architecture and design. All they see now is how many bucks are invested in it and for what reason.
good spot yaar! my wife and i saw this and we were aghast… not only at the commercialization, which as salma points out is rampant anyways these days, but also at the destruction of what was a very beautiful monument, i mean all the marble is now replaced by this ugly ugly paint. it makes you weep.
Dear Faisal,
When I read your blog, it reminds me of Oscar Wilde who said something like we are all in the gutters, but some of us are looking at the Stars…
Keep reminding us of the stark realities (and contradictions) in the world around us…and keep hammering the nail on the head…you are bound to make a change! atleast to those around you and who read your blog regularly. Keep up the good work!
Religion has been peddled for ages by various people for their needs….. with the mass consumerism and commercialism we see around us we have succeeded in Islamizing our advertising also.
Bravo to the advertising Genius who came up with turning Allah into blue. Kudos to Pepsi for their brilliant work in beautifying the city. Three cheers for the CDGK for allowing this fine upgradation to be done. Long live consumerism.
-Aly
Check out the latest post on From The Pulpit … http://bit.ly/Taqwa
Catch DiscoMaulvi on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DiscoMaulvi
Bhai, it’s seems that the so-called, “capitalists” are giving more relief to the common joe on the street then our good ol’seth sahib.
As for the arguement about changing the colors, aray yaar rehnay do bhai – it goes with the package – evolution , change – Allahwali Chorangi looks more “hip” than ever.
@ AKC in case you did not know bhai, pepsi cola is owned by Pakistan beverages which is owned by two memon seths… so there goes your seth vs capitalist theory.
You seriously like the blue color more than the white marble man?
@ aly B shameless plugging for the pulpit? lol
@ shaista thanks:)
@ bemisal Iqbal and salma yes the commercialization of religion is rampant but that does not mean that we do not raise a voice against it right? Its silly to view any change as progress in my opinion, appreciate your comments.
@KK at least they didn’t try to jumbo size it?