Kalma Chowk, you will be remembered

Kalma Chowk was a beautiful square, but sometimes you have to let go of certain things for the greater good.

Miriam Mehdi May 30, 2011
A lot of criticism is in the air about the “fall of the Kalma chowk” as if it is the fall of the Pakistan economy.

Many people, all of a sudden seem to have loads of memories associated with Kalma chowk - which were probably made while staring at it, waiting to get across the signal.

Protests, SMS' and even Facebook pages have been made and dedicated to the discussion over the loss of this beautiful piece of architecture.

The government’s personal interest in building the flyover is a by-product of the discussion. This is a perfect example for why I support dictatorship for Pakistani people (mind you not military) over democracy.

I completely agree that the Kalma Chowk monument had its significance but there is no use crying over spilled milk. Has anyone thought about the maintenance of our actual cultural heritage - Lahore fort and the Badshahi mosque to name a few?

Seventy-five per cent of the Lahore fort has deteriorated and only 25 per cent is in its original form. There are less than 15  sweepers responsible for the cleanliness of the whole fort, spread over an area of 20 hectares.

Now my question is: Is anyone of the people who feel strongly about the cultural heritage, doing anything about this situation, because it is certainly seems far more important?

I have not come across any single comment, post, SMS, Facebook page or discussion on how fast the construction is being done or appreciating the hard work of the labour. The construction of the flyover goes on for 24 hours and with the construction of this flyover one of the most important aspect of life – time would be saved and better utilised.

Kalma Chowk was a beautiful square which almost all Lahorites had passed by and it shall be remembered in our stories, but sometimes you have to let go of certain things for the greater good. Also, if one is really interested in preservation of cultural heritage, a proactive approach will be far more productive and will actually allow one to make an impact rather plainly uttering criticism.
WRITTEN BY:
Miriam Mehdi A business student and an instructor, who actively takes part in social activities. Her interests include debate, writing and teaching.
The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.

COMMENTS (35)

sal | 12 years ago | Reply totally agreed.. why doesn't anybody think about preserving the actual heritage!
basim | 12 years ago | Reply does anyone here know the ball-park figure of the kalma chowk flyover project? i'm not sure, but i'm sure it involves a lot of zeroes. Just imagine that money being invested in a mass transit system for Lahore... Its not about the physical demolition of the monument, its about the thought behind the demolition. Are they really going to build a flyover wherever there is too much traffic? whats next then? maybe they'll level androon shehr and leave a wide open space there because the place generates just too much traffic. The problem is the number of cars of the road, and i'm not even talking about the variety of traffic yet. Its the sheer number of cars. Remember when ferozepur road was just a two-laned road? now its 4 lanes- on each side! and still, not much has changed.
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