KARACHI: ‘Do you know your city?’ The question, which also happened to be the subject of the seminar, organised by Architecture Design Art in collaboration with the KMC and other organisations, had eminent speakers providing the answer at the historic Frere Hall on Friday.

“We are so unaware of the gems among us,” said architectural historian Maria Aslam, the host for the evening which was dedicated to late poet Parveen Shakir.

Architect and town planner Arif Hasan shared his story about Karachi while touching briefly on the city’s history, its issues and where the hope lies.

He spoke about the Hindu and Muslim settlements here before the arrival of the British, Hindu and Jewish graveyards, the old walled city and the salt and sweet gates known to us by the names of Kharadar and Mithadar, the temples, the shrines, which have been there since 230 BC and are in fact older than the old city, the 1857 rebellion and the deportation of people to kalapani.

He showed several old pictures of buildings which have now been declared heritage sites and neighbourhoods from where stories about fairies, seafaring men, etc, originated.

Dynamics of metropolis discussed at seminar

He said that over time there have been many plans for Karachi but they have resulted in dividing the city into rich and poor areas as they somewhat overlooked the three important things, namely, migration, densification and economic factors, to be considered when planning a city.

“There will be a need for four million jobs for the youth by 2025 and while there are 46 universities here there are only eight polytechnics, which are also ill-equipped. Then the poor, most of whom live away from towns cannot access the markets, too,” he said.

It was also explained how people living in katchi abadis moved to the outskirts of the city in their search for cheap housing but moved back after realising how long, tiring and expensive the journey for work every day was, giving rise to vertical development.

“The street becomes the first casualty as a result of the single-story houses being turned into three to four-storey buildings and densification. Then other facilities such as toilets also fall short,” he pointed out.

In her talk titled ‘Karachi, city of dreams’, sculptor and head of the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Karachi Durriya Kazi said that Karachi is a city to be experienced rather than seen.

“The buildings and streets are emblems of those who lived here before and who live here now,” she said naming the various roads and streets which still bear old British names and how areas are now better known through landmarks such as Disco Bakery, Nasir Jump, Chaar Meel ki Chowrangi, Mukka Chowk, etc.

Multiple identities

“Karachi is also a political city claimed by different parties,” she said, while talking about the various communities, too, who have settled here in places which have become known as their areas such as Parsi Colony for the Parsis, Dhoraji for Memons, Saddar for Christians, etc.

“The demographics of Karachi are even more diverse than New York’s,” she added.

Former chairman of Shehri Roland D’Souza had a presentation about the Christians in Karachi — especially the Goans.

“They are not ‘Goanese’ but Goans just like the Pathans are Pashtuns,” he said, adding that the Goans migrated from Goa to different cities of India, including Karachi, in search of employment.

D’Souza explained how the Christians of the city are divided into Catholics and Protestants.

“The Holy Trinity Church was built by the British officers who happened to be Protestants. Meanwhile, the soldiers who came here were mostly Irish Catholics. That’s how the Holy Trinity Church got to be built in the city centre while the St Patrick’s Cathedral was constructed on the then outskirts of Karachi,” he said, adding that today the Christian population of Karachi is about 400,000 with 240,000 Protestants and 160,000 Catholics.

He also explained that the issues of the Christians of Karachi are more or less the same as that of the other citizens of the metropolis such as jobs, housing, education, healthcare, transportation.

“But additionally, Christians also experience intolerance, caste discrimination, and are subjected to violence and forced conversions. They are also easy targets of extremist groups,” he concluded.

Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2018