Coolie Himmat Ali busks on Karachi railway stations dreaming to make it big

Clad in long orange shirt, ascribed to the coolies of Indian Subcontinent since perhaps time immemorial, Himmat Ali sat cross legged on a passageway between two railway tracks at Karachi Cantonment Station, awaiting a new train so he could negotiate an acceptable rate to carry the weight of people’s heavy luggages from their bogies to their respective carriages, or vice versa. He’s been stuck in this job for the past 12 years, and says he cannot grasp enough respite in this constant struggle for survival, to make time for honing and displaying his talents.

Ali, also known as Coolie Number 18, just came back to work two days ago, after a brief hiatus due to his mother’s medical treatment, and continued as coolie. “In past two days I have only made Rs1,100,” he said after singing a song on a request, from his original repertoire.

The song goes, “qoolie giri tu kamayan re jani qoolie giri tu kamayan [I make my living out of doing a coolie job, my beloved].”

The 35-year-old is a father to four young children and an attendent to his sick mother, in whose medical treatment he suffered great deal of financial setback. So great he came down to even selling almost everything, including his phone.

Thus, let alone a smart phone with camera to record his videos, the busker doesn’t even a dumb phone to even text or phone.

Among his biggest challenges is also the cut the coolies have to pay to their contractors, to the tune of 30 per cent no less. For each hundred rupees he makes, his contractor claims Rs30 of it.

Hat tip: this story coverage was inspired by students, Husba, Mariam and Khadeeja, of a local university who made a documentary on lives of coolies in Karachi.

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