Over the course of Sunday evening, the likeness of slain qawwal Amjad Sabri appeared on a wall in Korangi No 5.
Well-known painter/muralist S.M. Raza and philanthropist Aqib Faiz joined hands to pay tribute to Sabri with nothing but paint and an idea.
“Aqib is involved in the Wall of Kindness project in Korangi, Karachi. He came up with the idea [of making a mural of Amjad Sabri], but he couldn’t draw. He knew of me and my earlier mural projects, so he called me to execute his idea. We painted the mural together,” shared Raza about the origins of the mural.
Painted over three hours – “it was very quick painting,” says Raza – the finished mural, situated near the Memon Institute, is a faithful rendering of a photograph taken of Sabri while he performed in Trafo, Budapest. It shows Sabri mid-qawwali, with a finger raised to the skies as he addressed his Creator.
It’s how Sabri’s many fans and admirers will remember him in the years to come. And the mural’s makers hope that their painting will help preserve this memory.
“Because of its huge scale, a mural creates quite an impact on its viewers, so much so that they may never forget the visual,” says Raza. “Also, it’s very interactive with the public. One can easily convey a message through mural painting on the streets. It can change a common man’s thinking.”
It’s why Raza is bent on covering the city’s walls with its heroes. While he isn’t sure if he’ll paint more murals of Sabri in other locations of Karachi, he knows what he’s painting next Sunday: a mural of Edhi.
