By Peerzada Salman

An old man, holding his little grandson’s hand, has just arrived at the Quaid-i-Azam House and Museum. He says the child has come all the way from a remote area in Punjab to see the place the Father of the Nation once lived in. They return disappointed. Reason: it is 1pm, lunch time for those working at the museum.

Avoiding desultory discussion let’s establish one thing at the outset: apart from being an exceedingly intelligent individual, Mohammad Ali Jinnah had a sharp aesthetic sense. The elegant dresses that he wore, the classy hats that he put on, and the linguistic panache with which he communicated with friends and colleagues endorse this observation. It also mirrors in the buildings he chose as his abode.

Read more…

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

While Shalimar Gardens are famous partially for being the final resting place of their founder, the late Mughal King, Jehangir; Anarkali Bazaar, the other famous landmark of Lahore, plays host to another great muslim ruler- Sultan Qutub-uddin Aibak.

Born into a Turk family in Central Asia, Aibak was sold into slavery to a local chieftain as a young boy. The chief treated Aibak like his own son and taught him the fine art of military maneuvers and horsemanship. After the chief’s death, his sons, jealous of Aibak’s special treatment, sold him to Mohd Khan Ghauri.

As Ghauri started conquering parts of India, he appointed Aibak, who had rapidly risen through the ranks to become Ghauri’s most trusted general, as his Governor to oversee the new territory.

Read more…

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

By Peerzada Salman

HERE’S a little story: The rosy-fingered goddess Eos falls in love with Tithonus, a Trojan. She asks Zeus, the ruler of Mount Olympus, to grant immortality to the love of her life. Zeus obliges. It makes Tithonus exceedingly happy. But with the passage of time, he realizes that it’s eternal life that he’s been bestowed with, not youth. So Tithonus grows older and older, feebler and feebler, lying helplessly under a tree.

No different seems to be the fate of the Max Denso Hall & Library, the Mercantile Cooperative Bank Building, the Mandi Wala Building and the Jehangir Kothari Building on Bunder Road. They’re growing aged by the minute, and the thoroughfare flanked by these oldies is getting smoggier, dirtier and cloggier. Sadly, Eos can’t do anything about it, or so it seems.

Read more…

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Munawwar Maseeh is an unassuming, taciturn kind of a man. He is the gardener /gatekeeper at St Andrew’s Church in Saddar, Karachi. He’s been serving this place of worship for several years. He is even fond of the pigeons that often merrily perch themselves on the church gables like star-crossed lovers and the squirrels that scurry across the semi-verdant lawns to evade prying eyes.
Munawwar Maseeh has a 19-year-old son, Andrew Munawwar, who is a second-year commerce student at a local college. Unlike his father, he likes to converse in a relatively buoyant manner. If you happen to visit the building and bump into Andrew, he’ll gladly help you get acquainted with the church premises.

Read more…

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

When you’re making your way to the relatively newly-built reception (inaugurated in 2005), you look at the reasonably well-kept façade. You keep moving along getting impressed by the eye-catching designs and patterns on the exterior of the edifice and pretty-looking green, rectangular windows. The woodwork is impressive too. However, what can’t be missed are the ground floor’s clean-as-a-whistle windowpanes, but those on the second and third floors have gathered specks of dust. On the whole, the KPT offices are nicely maintained.

Read more…

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

This amazing piece of construction has had its share of uncalled-for problems. In the mid 1980s the then regime wanted to demolish it to make room for a multi-storey structure to fit into it its (government) offices. But our profuse thanks should go to Heritage Foundation which came forward and stopped the disaster, nay catastrophe, from taking place.
At present, the Hindu Gymkhana is the workplace of the National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa).

Read more…

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

While visiting the beautiful and well-maintained park provides one with a sense of ease and tranquility; it is the historical monuments in foreground that gives it a greater degree of significance. After all, what would Clifton be like, without the Jehangir Kothari Parade?
As every town and or area is defined by a unique monument, which in time becomes its main identity or even in certain cases a central point of assembly – like a town square- so too, Jehangir Kothari Parade serves the same purpose.

Read more…

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Surrounded by sparse patches of grass, The Merewether Memorial Clock Tower stands tall but cuts a sorry picture. The blaring horns or public transport buses at the busy traffic intersection, accompanied by the incessant cacophony of vendors selling a wide variety of foodstuffs on pushcarts, almost drown out the majestic buzz once associated with the grand structure.

If you move around the tower, you’ll feel the tyranny of time. You move closer to one of the sides through the iron fencing to get an up-close look, and discover that there’s a padlock adorning the narrow entrance whose grilles have been getting rustier by the day and gathering clumps of dust, making it hard to appreciate the delicate patterns on the metalwork. There’s a staircase leading to the top of the building, and is just as dusty. You press your face against the locked grille to shout ‘hello’ to know if your voice reverberates through the hollow space, but nothing happens.

Read more…

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

One of the oldest forts in this part of the former British India Empire, the Derawar Fort history goes back to almost 800 years (though this age is disputed).
An impressive part of our cultural heritage, the name Derawar is the corrupted term of its builder’s name Raja Rawal Deoraj whom is said to have it built to protect the area from invaders. The present building was built by Abbasi family or the Nawabs in 1733. Its walls are 30m high and there are 40 bastions, 10 on each side.

Read more…

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

One of the most prolific young writers of the land, Bina Shah, has made a plea to Dawn  readers to save the highly famous, cultural centre cum café, The Second Floor, from being closed down – permanently.As Bina rightly points out that T2F has practically been a second home to a large number of writers, poets, activists and scientists, whom otherwise wouldn’t have an alternate place to enrich their audience thoughts and lives.

The audience too, many of whom consists of students, wouldn’t had the pleasure to listen and interact with such a varied number of professionals and amateurs alike, and that too, on a nominal fee. T2F charges either Rs. 50 or 100 depending on the potential size of the audience. This amount is not more than a good lunch from a road-side restaurant.Although, not a regular patron, but had the honour of visiting the place a couple of times. For my first time, I went solely to listen and to meet the famous writer, Bina Shah.Although, couldn’t muster enough courage to go and say hi to her but still loved her own narration of her then recent book… though forgotten the name.

Read more…

Be Sociable, Share!

•