Who says Pakistanis don’t have an eye for detail?
A Pakistani student has come up with some insanely creative designs for the country’s currency notes.
She designed these notes as part of her Bachelor of Arts Thesis. The topic of her thesis was “Redesign of Pakistan Currency Notes – theme based on Pakistan’s Cultural Diversity.”
Her brother went over Twitter to share the results of this project. Dare we say that the project has succeeded in highlighting the soft image of Pakistan? Because it surely has.
Here’s a closer look at those currency notes. How amazing is this that this was all sketched by hand?
From the astounding Makli Tombs, to Takh e Bahi, Shandoor, to the magnificent Qila Baltit, the student sure did use an interesting array of cultural landmarks that are present in Pakistan.
And then we have pottery, the dholwala (drum beater), polo, truck art, a girl from the Kalaish tribe, the famous Buddha statue, Rubab, and more!
Just in case if anyone points out, “But what about those poor Rs 1, Rs 2 coins?” As it turns out, the same artist has designed some pretty nifty coins based on that:
Wouldn’t it be great if these notes could inspire the official notes of Pakistan? The student actually took care while incorporating some security features in her design as well. Here’s what her brother said regarding this:
Remarkable as these notes are, it seems that not everyone is happy with what is first and foremost an arts project by an incredibly talented individual. We need to be better than this and here’s why.
The art project has invited a lot of attention, both good and bad.
Numerous Pakistani tweeps pointed out why there was no depiction of Quaid-e-Azam on these currency notes, not realizing the fact that it’s an arts project which required specific focus on Pakistan’s culture and not an official thing by the State Bank of Pakistan. Neither has the student recommended these notes to be considered as official designs for Pakistani currency. So hold onto your horses people, you know who you are:
Even some people from across the border can appreciate art on its merits. In fact, many countries feature monuments on their currency notes, so why can’t we?
There’s no discounting the achievements of the Quaid, and fellow Pakistanis should be secure in the knowledge that his achievements aren’t going away.
At least not all of us are touchy regarding certain features of the design and can learn to ask a question without judging the patriotism of others. Here’s how you ask a question sensibly:
And here’s how you don’t:
We’re not sure where this person got their education from, but this is certainly not OK:
Then we have the armchair keyboard warriors who claim to know what Pakistan stands for.
These are probably the same people who missed out on the part that the white part of Pakistan’s flag represents minorities. They are also the same folks who might have gotten a case of collective amnesia regarding what Quaid-e-Azam said the minorities, soon after achieving independence from the British:
You are free; you are free to go to your temples. You are free to go to your mosques or to any other places of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion, caste or creed—that has nothing to do with the business of the state.
We sure do like jumping to conclusions, don’t we? But at least it is heartening to note that some people do realize the true value of talent:
In a climate where Pakistan’s cultural strengths are not highlighted enough internationally, efforts such as those by the designer behind these eye-catching notes and others need to be celebrated. And its time we learn to do the same.