Will it regain its lost glory?
I’ve been fortunate to travel abroad the last couple of weeks for much needed breathing space to imbibe writers’ oxygen. Having been confronted for months by the endless tussle and being compelled to comment repeatedly owing to an incredible stance being adopted by at least one of the three arms of state. So breathing deeply, I choose to ignore what may completely dwarf this article tomorrow and pray that sense prevails.
On to greener, for the present, pastures. A set of fantastic photographs of yore published by a friend on Facebook relating to Karachi has taken my mind by storm. For those who have been fortunate recipients, I am sure it has done the same. This wonderful city of lights, music and hilarity that set the pattern for us during a wonderful youth needs to be acknowledged in glowing terms. Looking at these pictures, reviewing the posts in “I want my old Karachi back” a Facebook site, I don’t feel remorse but enhanced idealistic belief that within the current carnage, there must lie relief.
Karachi was fabulous. This is universally accepted by all who knew that period. Not just Karachiites but those lucky to be stationed here during the period it was the capital and even thereafter. Believe it or not, Karachi was a prize posting for diplomats and corporate elite. Visit them, retired in their homes today, and they reflect with fondness and great pleasure at the times spent here. I recall with pride Sir Sidney and Lady Ridley, former Revenue Commissioner of Sindh, playing host to me as Bursar of St John’s College Oxford when I was doing my application, and taking me for tea with Sir Arthur Norrington, President of Trinity College. Sir Sidney’s rendition of life in Karachi and the interior of Sindh was such that Norrington looked on with amazement. He’d obviously heard all about India but little about us.
Okay, you may call Sir Sidney a great friend of Pakistan, but he wasn’t the only one who thought this way. The majority did. And the photographs I am referring to enhance the glory of this city and the country. We were a society that enveloped and encouraged participation and indulged in happiness. It was a new country after Partition, perhaps the new status as capital played a significant role, there were huge challenges to be confronted but these were met with great hope and belief. And we did, whatever the shortcomings, even after Karachi lost the status of being the capital.
There was total ethnic homogeneity in Karachi; I am certain this was the case in all of Pakistan. We were brothers and sisters in arms. No one bothered who was Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Parsi or even Bahai, leave alone Sunni or Shia. We interacted, ate in each other’s homes, spent our days and evenings growing up together. Those of us who were fortunate then are still ‘as one’ with each other.
What didn’t Karachi have? And it’s ironical this because I often ask this question what does Sindh or for that matter Pakistan not have. Karachi had everything. The rest of Pakistan just ached to visit here; many did. It was like going to London then literally. People did not travel that frequently at the time although, believe it or not, visas were not an issue nor was the availability of flights. I recall friends from Lahore and Islamabad just coming here for extended holidays, beating the Northern summer heat, while many affluent Karachi families took off to Murree or Nathiagali. There was the option. Today, Karachi is a bad word in the North. As it is almost everywhere. It’s tragic.
Many times I have sat and wondered about the origins of this degradation of the quality of life and am nonplussed as to who or what to lay the blame on. Whether the times I speak of were based on exclusivity and isolation and therefore in a sense ‘unreal’. Back then, educational standards were upto par to a great extent. The top institutions in the country competed for pride of performance. There was a sense of belonging; a network that existed then for generations and exists even today, but only at a certain level. So what happened? Did the country just become too big and lose its ideals, principles and the touch of class? I guess it is too late to find real answers; we’ll continue to speculate.
On another positive front. I finally got to visit a country that formed part of the former Soviet empire, Latvia. The principal city Riga that accounts for more than half the population, ten million of an eighteen million population is an old city going through the stages of a cultural revolution. The wonderful aspect is that the Old City, a significant part, has been preserved and enhanced without the addition of grotesque modern structures. It’s a pedestrian zone and houses everything from monuments, quaint shops to fabulous restaurants, bars et al. Music dominates and of course, as with modern cities promoting international cuisine, even an Indian restaurant flourishes. The people are fabulous, warm, generous and forthcoming. It’s a two-hour flight from central Europe; definitely worth taking.
The writer can be contacted at [email protected].
Well written, all the old Karachites have very similar memories – You talk about ethnic homogeneity, I remember as a teenager someone in KGS asking me where I was from, my answer was Karachi, on being asked again where I was originally from, I did not know. Later that day, my father explained our family history. I wish kids these days could grow up in similar homogeneity
I wish the writer of the article would have told us that since when Karachi became a city bristling with guns and who was responsible for that. Karachi, indeed, was a peaceful city. I wish the writer would have told us that an ethnic and linguist party. whose supremo is in self styled exile in London. introduced the culture of extortion, blackmailing, target killing. It is unfortunate that some others have entered into the field and are challenging the ethnic party.
Will it regain lost glory? I do not see this happening so far as the government will continue to pursue policy of reconciliation and until the media gathers courage to call spade a spade.
Have you ever considered publishing an e-book or guest authoring on other sites?
I have a blog centered on the same subjects you discuss and would love to have you share
some stories/information. I know my viewers would appreciate your
work. If you’re even remotely interested, feel free to shoot me an e mail.
Comments are closed.