The Best of Both Worlds

I envision a city with beautiful, valuable heritage that has been nurtured and restored. I wish for every single person living there, to have a sense of belonging to where they live. I dream of Karachi in its full glory one day; with a beautiful blend of modernism and old world charm; something that this amazing and captivating city can boast of. Karachi might not have a history as old as that of Lahore, Shikarpur or Thatta; but it has something which most cities in our country don't have..the best of both worlds. The main business hub with a port, yet dotted with architecturally rich historic neighbourhoods. A city that has so much to offer to both locals and tourists..the Old Town area, the bustling city life, the lovely little shops crammed with local goods and the fast-appearing malls with international food chains opening up rapidly. For a tourist, it has everything, from mystique to history, from comforts to a world worth exploring. Once you enter the intriguing world that this city has to offer, there is so much to discover and enjoy. One can simply start with Saddar area. Due to the presence of old buildings, it has its own identity and character. Saddar has its own distinctive environment as well as social and historical significance. The old Bohri Bazaar area, the Empress Market and Elphinstone Street amongst others mark the historical era of the city. Many of the old buildings here, though under-utilized, abandoned or dilapidated, still sing a beautiful melancholic song from the by-gone era. We just need to listen..we need to take care of these pieces of art..we need to preserve them, restore them, re-adapt them without destroying their true character. We need to condition our children to be proud of who we are and what we possess in terms of architecture, history, culture, heritage. We must join hands and work together and give this city what it truly deserves. So my friends, this one is to Karachi!

The Karachiite in Me

Karachi! My hometown... It's only when I'm away that I realize how much it means to me to be able to enjoy the sunny mornings and the pleasant evenings; something synonymous with the city of lights. For a city that has so much to offer to people from all walks of life, Karachi has not been given its due credit. From food to shopping, it has something to offer everyone. But that's not the real Karachi. The malls and the cinemas only represent a small section of the city. The real city lies within the centre, the heart. The gorgeous architecture, the cultural values, the hawkers selling interesting wares, the local food, the spice bazaar; the list is endless. There is something about the weather of Karachi as well. As much as we like to complain of the humidity and the dust, the pollution and the lack of greenery as compared to some of the other major cities of the country; the fact remains that one gets pleasantly used to the moderate weather of Karachi. If one is truly interested in exploring the city, it is always better to start from the architecturally and historically beautiful areas such as Saddar Quarter and Market Quarter. The Market Quarter comprising of the infamous Jodia Bazaar, Khori Garden and Marriott Road might not be very well maintained at the moment, and might be quite a difficult place to be due to badly managed traffic and congestion; yet once you are there, there is so much to see and enjoy. From interesting bargains to a vast variety of goods; it is an interesting place to shop and haggle if you are upto it. The historical Max Denso Hall also grabs attention once you are there; not to forget the treasure trove in the form of Kitaab Gali. Kitaab Gali is a book lover's dream come true. All it needs is careful rearranging of the shops, taking care not to dislocate the shopkeepers, some of whom have been working there all their lives. Spice Bazaar! The delicious, rich aromas emanating from all directions give u a bit of the local flavour. Then there is Elphinstone Street.. Now called the Zaibunnissa Street; it has clusters of old buildings, all part of our rich heritage. The Nusserwanjee Building, the Mohammad Ali Building, Old Ilaco House, Victoria Furnishing Mart; all have beautiful facades and are quite a treat for the eye. The need to preserve these heritage buildings is even stronger now; with our young generation so oblivious to the simple pleasures in life and old world charm. We must work together to instill a sense of pride and belonging in our children so that our future generations do not completely cut their ties with the past. The Karachiite in me is working towards it..Are you?

Khara Darwaza Mitha Darwaza

The best thing about living in Karachi is experiencing the lively feel of the city. Some might argue that it is not the same anymore and things have changed over the past few years, affecting the influx of tourists that one used to witness till about a decade back; especially in the dense but interesting areas of Bohri Bazaar and Zainab Market. The appeal of these old areas of the city to the 'goras' was quite understandable. Old historic neighbourhoods with quaint little shops brimming with artifacts, local crafts, textiles to name a few; not to forget their architectural and historical significance. The past few years sadly witnessed the increase in terrorist attacks and crime-rate, and directly affected tourism besides other things. However, the locals still enjoy all that comes with the metropolitan city.

Karachi... a city that arose from the status of a small fishing village of 20-25 huts to the commercial hub it is today. While some of the older cities of the Indo-Pak sub-continent can boast of a much richer history, the history of Karachi as a city dates back only to the last two centuries. Despite that, it is dotted with reminders of historical and architectural value from the bygone era. Just the fact that it was once a walled city with two doors, adds to its mystique. The door leading to the brackish waters of the sea was known as 'Khara Darwaza', and the one leading to the sweet waters of Lyari river was known as 'Mitha Darwaza'.  Although not much is left of the wall and the city has spread much beyond it, the areas known as Kharadar and Mithadar are still here to remind us of what they started as.

A tour around town delights one with heritage properties of all sorts; residential, commercial, cultural; oozing old world charm. Some of them have been restored and re-adapted while most are facing neglect and effects of pollution, leaving them dilapidated and heading towards an unfortunate fate. The city might be alive till the wee hours but the once beautiful reminders of the Indo-Gothic, Indo-Saracenic and Imperial-Vernacular styles of architecture are heading towards a slow death. The question is, what are we doing to save them? Are we willing to break all ties with the past? Are we unable to appreciate the treasures that have been bestowed upon us? Do we not care about our history, our heritage, our identity? The answer lies deep within our hearts... 

The Reality

Reimagining leads to rebuilding... Years later, his dream and her dream merged together and turned into a reality. They both got together with a promise to have more and more people join the brigade and help them preserve and restore whatever was left of the heritage.

What they had envisioned, has now started...

Reimagining Karachi is a process, a promise, a movement, a revolution...It is an endeavour to enable people to see beauty beyond the obvious. It is an effort to instill a sense of pride and belonging in the common man. It is an opportunity to understand our roots, our culture and past.

We are gifted with beautiful heritage, historically and architecturally. We need to understand that living in the world of restoration is both a major responsibility and a privilege. A privilege, because we own such architectural masterpieces and have such a rich culture and history; and responsibility, because it is up to us to preserve and restore these neglected, dilapidated and deteriorating buildings and historical sites. We are in the process of gathering all the data that is there on several sites that we have shortlisted. The shortlisting has been done with the help of architects, urban planners, heritage activists, department of architecture and planning from various engineering and art schools. We are trying to compile all of their work and take it further. We intend to initiate systematic, practical, timely yet aesthetically pleasing programmes to save our forgotten treasures. We are working on clusters of historically important buildings as we understand that it will have a larger impact on the environment and the social, economic and commercial activities.

We will take you on this journey with us as we go step-by-step towards a more beautiful Karachi. Join us, support us, guide us..Help us create a better world for our future generations. Merge your own dreams with our dreams and see what a world of a difference it makes when we march towards a common goal together!

Sadaf Mahmood

Faraz Khan

His Dream

Lost in his thoughts, a young boy walked past the once majestic yellow-brick building. As he traced the rough yet gloriously warm walls of whatever was left of the structure, his mind wandered off from his surroundings, to a world much more intriguing than his own. One would have thought his imagination went no further than kings and knights, swords and horses, castles and forts; but this was no ordinary boy.  He was not ordinary, for instead of kings, he thought of the common man; and instead of swords, he wanted peace. Where other boys his age ambitiously talked about what they wanted to do with their lives, he dreamed of what he could do for others. He stopped and leaned against the crumbling wall of bricks, one foot resting on the little gap that a missing brick left. That particular afternoon, he just wanted to be invisible to the whole world and submerge himself in the beauty and serenity of the quiet ruins; imagining what all this architectural marvel had witnessed once.. whispers, laughter, love, tears...  

He closed his eyes, oblivious to the scorching heat and an occasional passer-by, and tried to imagine what this building looked like once. He suppressed a wave of pleasure when he could picture the grand building in another era, full of life. He just wanted to imagine more and more. A blaring horn from a passing car jolted him back to reality. He felt a pang of disappointment for the interruption in his beautiful thoughts. He looked at the old watch his adoring mother had given him, once belonging to his grandfather, and realized it was time to go. He looked up one last time at the silent, dilapidated walls and made a promise to himself..One day he would return and bring this evidence of history to its former glory..One day...

Her Dream...

A little girl sat in the car, her nose pressed to the window, gazing out at the intricate patterns of the majestic yellow buildings. Brushing strands of her brown hair off her forehead with the back of her tiny hand, she continued to count the fleurs-de-lis on the grille of a balcony, hastening her counting as the car sped up.

Fast forward seven years and there she was, dressed in her pristine white college uniform, stuck in a traffic jam right in the middle of Empress Market. By this time she was old enough to be able to admire the gorgeous yellow-brick buildings, the gothic windows and the breathtakingly beautiful façades. Each passing day made her notice something new about the architecture. She started trying to imagine what they were like from the inside; what was their story; what secrets did these gloomy forgotten treasures hold; what all had they witnessed...love, laughter, intimate moments, tears, births, deaths, struggles, LIFE… The more beauty she found in the somewhat dilapidated buildings, the more questions started bothering her. She started wondering why smoke clouded them and why people would just pass by without giving these magnificent pieces of art a second glance; she was perplexed by the negligence and lack of love that was apparent from the condition of these legacies.  That’s when she thought, ONE DAY…One day she promised to return, to capture the essence of her  glorious heritage and help people see what she saw. One day…