Written by: Sania Ahmed Khan
Posted on: January 08, 2019 | 
| 中文
Adamjee Building
On Sunday 6th January, 2019, Pakistan Chowk Community Centre (PCCC) celebrated its first anniversary at Heritage Walk Karachi (HWK). Ms. Shaheen Nauman, Project Coordinator of Heritage Walk Karachi, has been conducting walking tours in Old Town for locals every Sunday morning for a year. The aim of the project is to empower people to protect and nurture their past through awareness, knowledge-sharing, income-generation, and community engagement.
Through the implementation of this project in Old Town area, PCCC has built a platform for the promotion of arts, literature, and cultural activities, in order to provide more opportunities and exposure to the residents of Old Town. By attracting diverse audiences and participants in their gatherings, classes and talks, PCCC hopes to bridge the spatial and symbolic gaps amongst the communities of Karachi.
The 31st session of the project attracted a diverse audience of around 30 participants, which included academics, visitors and locals. The one and a half hour long tour covers roughly two kilometres of Pakistan Chowk area. It starts from Pakistan Chowk, through one of the oldest residential settlements at Ghari Khata, towards retail hub of the city, Paper Market, Shahrah-e-Liaquat (Frere Road) and back to the Outram Road, where participants who have accompanied each other through alleys and narrow streets for an interactive tour, sit together for a traditional breakfast. Strangers to each other until two hours ago, and oblivious to the beautiful heritage buildings they drove past for years, these participants find safe spaces for expression of identities. Over halwa poori and karak chai, these people at a three generation food joint – Karachi Sweets – indulge in dialogue over the restoration and preservation of heritage sites. Through its walking tours, and well-researched social media content on the cultural, natural, and built heritages of Karachi, HWK has proved to be influential in forming public opinion.
The abandoned Sevakunj Hostel was one of the first sites we visited in the tour. It provided an inexpensive shelter to students from interior Sindh studying at Dawood College of Engineering and Technology for many years. At one time, there were so many students residing here that they had to create partitions between their beds and study space, by using stacks of books. Now it lies desolate, with windows devoid of wooden frames and doors replaced. The hostel was occupied by Frontier Constabulary for some time before being closed, depriving its alumni of the chance to visit it.
Building 0465 of the Old Town Mapping Project was our next stop. A small cottage sandwiched between high-rise residential buildings, it had red roof shingles and a wooden balcony big enough to accommodate two people.
Sadik Manzil is a residential complex a few steps from Building 0465, with a concrete structure which, judging by the laundry hung on metal grills of the balconies, is still inhabited by families. The building is in a relatively good condition.
Hamdard Matab is a renovated heritage building, which contains a leading herbal medicine shop. It was greatly admired by the participants, since the renovation had been carried out according to government regulations, conserving the site for future generations. Garikhata Cutchi Memon mosque was another source of attraction for the audience. It was established in the 18th Century with the help of the Memon Community, and bears resemblance to the Prophet’s mosque in Madina. The Cutchi Memon dispensary was inaugurated close by, in honour of the earthquake victims of 2008.
Botal Gali is known for its collection of second-hand bottles, which can be bought and sold for different prices. The most common ones are the plastic and glass ones, especially the smaller palm-sized bottles, used by the local perfume and ittar industry. However, the tiny shops were closed in the early hours of Sunday so we focused on the buildings. Paper Market was another commercial area, with a beautiful arched entrance arcade built in Gizri sandstone.
The Adamjee building, constructed in 1931, came next. Not only is it well-maintained, the building is picturesque for two reasons. One are the box-shaped wooden balconies that seem to be protruding from the building’s exterior, while the other is the wooden screen (Jafri) that forms a triangular enclave inside the building. We were given the chance to roam around this building.
The Meghraj Dwarkadas Nagpal Building, an old wooden structure with colourful balconies, has both shops and residences at present. During the British Raj, it was used as a restaurant. Though the building is clearly in needs of restoration, its condition is far better than surrounding sites.
The pre-partition Kanji Building is located off Outram Road, and was declared a heritage site back in 1995. About two months ago, builders started to tear it down bit by bit; and all that remains now is the sandstone façade, with coloured glass windows. However, due to the intervention of Pakistan Chowk Community Centre, the beautiful Kanji Building has been saved from complete demolishment.
At the conclusion of the walk, Ms. Shaheen Nauman told us about her contribution in conserving the heritage sites of Old Town. Heritage Walk Karachi has also played an active role in halting the damage caused to the Empress Market, during the encroachment drive which started in Karachi on 5th November, 2018. I parted from the tour wishing all Sunday mornings could be spent waking up early to walk in the alleys and streets of Old Town.
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