Regional
Polio-affected Kalasha artist crafts art with one hand
Rehmat Wali from the Kalash Valley succumbed both legs and one arm to polio as a child, but did not see it as his weakness. The artist – affected by polio, specialises in making wooden sculpture by just eyeing at the image.
According to details, Rehmat Wali was paralysed with both legs and one arm a year after his birth due to polio, but he never considered debility as his weakness.
Rehmat Wali says, he had never been to school but had been making wooden sketches for the past 15 years. "I can make anyone's sculpture, I just need a clear picture," he added.
“I make art on order and I get so many orders that it becomes difficult to fulfil them, but the biggest problem is the lack of facilities, such as modern machines, due to which I take more time to create art,” he said. “Tourists from Chitral to Karachi love my work and I get orders across Pakistan. I am glad that people admire my talent my buying my art-work and this helps me to earn and feed my family."
Rehmat Wali says he is not getting any assistance from the government and he is working hard at his own.