The unrecognised daredevils of Pakistan

The only recognition this will probably ever receive is this photo that I took of him; the unfairness irked me.

A recent photograph I took was of a small child, around ten-years-old, who was dangerously running on a round, two-foot diameter pipeline -shaped like a large tube - while wearing a pair of wet, oversized slippers.



Filing interesting photos is one of my jobs. I wandered into the distant sectors of the federal capital in search of interesting captures. I saw children bathing in a nullah (pond) near a railway bridge. A train travels over this bridge to reach the Islamabad Dry Port and the Margallah railway station.

A water pipeline runs across this nullah. Boys were jumping off the pipe, as if it were a diving board of a swimming pool. Intrigued, I focused my camera lens on the jumping boys and took several shots.  It surprised me that the boys were not at all afraid of running on the cylindrical surface of the pipe, which barely allowed any grip, unlike a flat surface. They were also not intimidated by the fact that the pipe was elevated by 40 metres or so above the nullah.



I moved my camera away from the swimmers and saw a boy, wearing a dark brown shalwar kameez, running on the pipe. His slippers were wet and oversized. The enthusiasm and momentum he showed while crossing this daunting surface amazed me.

I approached the boy, and spoke to him. He said,

“I take dips here to keep myself cool in summer. To jump from different heights and angles is my passion and I do it as a hobby”.

I decided to file a picture of this boy while he ran fearlessly on the pipeline. I thought to myself: this boy is so young, yet he is no less brave than Tom Cruise, who accomplished a marvellous stunt of hanging down from a rope at Burj Khalifa to shoot for a movie. However, this boy is not acclaimed like Tom Cruise, not celebrated like him, and probably never will be.

The only recognition, he will probably ever receive is in the form of this photo that I am taking.

The unfairness irked me.

PHOTOS: MUHAMMAD JAVAID