CITY FILES
Fun fact #1: Whatsoever maybe the geopolitical reason of the move, the capital was moved to Islamabad in 1960. Rawalpindi served as the interim capital during the 1960s while Islamabad was being built at a slow pace. It was the first Pakistani city with a master plan that was designed by the Greek firm of Constantinos A. Doxiadis. (Source: HuffingtonPost)
I first came across this in my History textbook back in fifth grade. While I took pride in the way Karachi had always welcomed people, I was sad that the first capital of our country was given the same level of importance and that the “Karachiites” would not enjoy a fair distribution of resources.
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Fun fact #2: “Identity crisis” (n) – (a) a psychosocial state or condition of disorientation and role confusion occurring especially in adolescents as a result of conflicting internal and external experiences, pressures, and expectations and often producing acute anxiety; (b) an analogous state of confusion occurring in a social structure, such as institution or a corporation. (Source: The Free Dictionary)
It was a recurrent topic in courses like Psycholinguistics and Sociolinguistics; I was fascinated. I never realized it was a subject close to home.
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“Old City area holds a special place in my heart! As a child, I would visit it regularly to spend time with my maternal grandparents. For me, it was a place of warmth, prayers, kisses, snuggles and stories! Grandma would make us delicious food and take us to Kagzi Bazar and Khoury Garden to buy groceries. My mother grew up in this old area – also called the ‘heart of Karachi’. She attended Moriswala School, an old community school, and went to a government college near City Courts. Every time we drive past these landmarks, nostalgia hits us,” my friend messaged me as I attended the Seminar on Preservation of Karachi’s Heritage Challenges and Opportunities at a local hotel. The event was organized by Institute of Architects, Pakistan – Karachi Chapter; architects, national and international practicing conservationists, members of civil society, urban planners, government functionaries and developers were invited.
“Many people have moved from old city areas like Ranchore Line, Bartan Gali, Daryalal Road, Napier Road, Denso Hall – which are also reminders of British glory – because of poor living conditions. I wonder why nothing is being done to preserve the old architecture, why nobody invests on reconstructing it.” I looked and saw an old picture of Hotel Metropole, Karachi, fading away as the slideshow ended.
Heritage is not just about preservation of the existing buildings, though. As AR. Henry Squire mentioned in his speech earlier in the event, it is also “how you design something for the people that makes them identified with the architecture.”
For instance, a building in Pakistan won’t be the same as a building in London, because of the heritage and culture of these two different places. In this era of advancement, it would be pity if the rules of fashion and globalization too would apply to architecture. How would a building be accepted if it’s completely new? How could cultural identity of a place be retained if its architecture didn’t fit in?
“There is a lack of ownership. We have to realize that this is public property and we all have a responsibility to preserve it,” AR. Marvi Mazhar pointed out during panel discussion on Prevailing Laws for Heritage Buildings and Districts.
Laziness and procrastination aside, the main reason why people are not doing anything is their mindset. People here call themselves Karachiites, Karachians, Karachiwalas; they are Sindhi, Muhajir, Punjabi, Pakhtoon, Kashmiri, Balochi, even Afghani, Burmese, and Bengali; some are first and foremost “Pakistani” while others are “Muslim”. According to AR. Muhammad Faisal Noor in Heritage – Karachi Context, the sense of belongingness is missing. The identity crisis is apparent here. People will only be willing to preserve this heritage if they connect to the city the way those who originally lived here did. Karachi needs a master plan, and everybody should be involved. Here are some points that the caretakers can take into account:
While conservation on Karachi remains low priority on government agenda and budget, while real estate development threatens historic and natural environment, and architects, environmentalist and professionals are forced to bargain, there are certain steps we can take. For instance, History, Civic and Social Science education in schools, colleges and universities can be strengthened. A one-on-one partnership can also be forged between citizen and corporate biggies. Further, no development should take place without Environmental Impact Assessment. We are moving forward, but with these reforms, at least, we’ll be heading in the right direction.