KARACHI: The path leading to the Chowkandi graveyard is enough to deter would-be enthusiasts. The beaten down road that runs for miles, riddled with potholes, chock-a-block traffic and just general lawlessness, amidst rampant illegal construction, prepares us for a disappointing visit to one of the few historical places the city can boast of.
In the midst of the barren landscape is a place known for centuries’ worth of history, stripped of its allure and its distinctly carved yellow sand stones, cruelly dismembered for its glory by art enthusiasts, antique thieves, smugglers and the land mafia. These forces have individually and collectively, bit by bit, stolen gravestones, leaving gaps in the already floundering historical narrative of Sindh.
Attributed to the Jokhio and Baloch tribes and built between the 15th and 18th centuries, the intricate geometrical designs on weathered stones however remain intact despite the vagaries of time. Proud and regal in outlook, each narrates a distinct tale, of a life lived and a life lost. But these tales have become far and few in between.
The graveyard has no distinct entrance, and no defined boundary. This unfortunate absence has been time and again attributed as the reason behind the unchecked pilferage of the gravestones. Cruelly smashed into smaller, easier to manage pieces, the more attractive ones have been plucked away, leaving behind the broken remains of stones carved and adorned for a loved one’s grave.
This lack of security at open-air historical sites encourages relic thieves to take their pick of what is being offered. The time we were at Chowkandi, no watchman was present and young men, in packs or alone, entered the vicinity of the graveyard and lingered suspiciously without any check and balance.
The unkept grounds are dotted with shards of broken glass, plastic wrappers and stubbed cigarettes. Gravestones have been vandalised by being broken from their original place and rearranged on newly dug graves. The original inhabitants of the graveyard are outnumbered by the newly deceased, whose graves are now covered with the intricately carved stones, some with a bright blue paint smeared all over. These are clearly visible within newly built make-shift tombs, with low whitewashed walls. Pieces broken from original graves have been put together with the help of cement that has rendered further damage to the stones.
With a never-ending fascination and respect that funerary architecture is given in Islam, this thievery is appalling.
The small lane leading to the graveyard entrance has hastily constructed shops whose legitimacy can be questioned. The smoking factory at the far end of the graveyard, along with several constructed buildings, and even a residential housing scheme that will no doubt encroach on the graveyard land, are all a testament to the ignorance (or negligence) of the government that is allowing these structures to be slowly wiped out from existence.
The tombs are usually pyramid shaped, but plundering has rendered them disproportionate in size and shape. The ones embellished with geometrical designs are numerous but the ones that comprised floral motifs, and human and pictorial representations such as hunting scenes, and of jewellery and arms, allowing the viewer to decipher whether the grave belonged to a warrior or a craftsman, are distinctly missing.
What has let down Chowkandi most is the apathy exhibited by the state in preserving this site. This irreparable damage to the overall authenticity of the historical graveyard must be halted before it is lost to us forever.
Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2015
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