Namurad Karachi
By Khaled Fatmi
Haroon Publications
399pp.

The author of Namurad Karachi, Khaled Fatmi, has taken up writing in his retirement. But he is not a newcomer to the art, as he has had articles published in the daily Jang, albeit many decades ago.

Fatmi is originally from what used to be East Pakistan. After completing his matriculation, he arrived in Karachi in the 1960s. He attended a couple of art schools, worked for the Industrial Development Bank of Pakistan and other organisations, and finally opened a design and printing company with a partner.

Later, because of his self-professed restless nature, he migrated to the US and entered the hospitality business. After 20 years there, he returned to Karachi and joined various channels and media groups for several years and then decided to call it a day. Now, he writes.

The title of the book, Namurad Karachi or Unfortunate Karachi, is enough to clarify the author’s point of view. He deems all the changes that have been wrought in Karachi from the sixties to the present day to be undesirable. He denounces even those modifications which are due to progress and the advent of technology. As he paints the picture of Karachi over the six decades of his relationship with the city, he indulges in nostalgia, but it is tinged with bitterness.

A retiree’s recollections of the many different aspects of the Karachi that was and is, along with the inhabitants of this city

Namurad Karachi contains 81 essays written about the city and its people. Fatmi begins each piece by providing the year or the decade in which the story occurs. The descriptions of the time and place are portrayed in great detail. The actual incident around which the story revolves is revealed briefly at the end, like a nugget of gold hidden under superfluous geological layers.

The geography of each area of Karachi, which forms the backdrop of his stories, is examined exhaustively, including its streets and their locations, their names then and now, the buildings on their corners, the shops lining them and the names of the shop owners. He is familiar with the bus routes that serve each locality and knows how many buses he needs to change, and from where, to reach his destination.

In the same way, he can recount the names of prominent restaurants of the sixties, such as Shezan Kohsar and Jabees. And he can conjure up the café culture of Karachi, based around Café Jehan, Fredrick Cafeteria, Zelin’s and the like, where the literati habitually gathered for intellectual discourse. He is so familiar with the café scene that he knew which café was the chosen haunt of which popular poet or artist.

His favourite pastime was to visit private homes where the educated congregated to air their views. One very well-known spot was the house of Raees Amrohvi, in the Garden area. This was also the office of the Urdu magazine, Insha. The brothers of Raees Amrohvi, Jaun Elia and Syed Mohammed Taqi, who was the editor of Jang, were regulars here, and because of them — and the publication Insha — a host of struggling poets and writers were attracted to the place, too.

The stories the author relates are testaments to the variety of his experiences. He has no qualms in socialising with artists and writers on the one hand, and beggars, con men, prostitutes and transgender persons on the other. He helps the needy, forgives the liars and befriends alcoholics, though he is a teetotaler himself. He is acquainted with giants of art and literature of the likes of Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Sadequain, Jaun Elia and Jameeluddin Aali, yet he is also aware of their feet of clay.

From this rich and varied life, the author culls the stories for our delectation. They range from the sublime to not only the profane but also absurd.

One story centres around the son of a railway guard who is not academically inclined and cannot pursue a career in medicine or engineering, like his older brothers. He decides to become a pir instead, and starts giving out amulets and advice. Soon, he is not only richer than his brothers, but also revered by his clients.

In another story, a peon is caught taking bribes. He cannot be dismissed because he is a government employee. Instead, he is transferred to a place where there is no possibility of extorting money. But his genius finds a way to receive even more bribes there than before.

There is an entire essay on how the beggary system works in Karachi and whom it benefits. Another story warns the reader against food streets, where, because of a lack of toilet facilities, the waiters relieve themselves by the roadside and do not wash their hands before serving the patrons.

Then there is an article which gives the publication history of Urdu language digests in Karachi, while another sheds light on the unscrupulous practices of the plethora of small hospitals which have sprung up in galis and mohallas.

Although the topics discussed in Namurad Karachi are often fascinating, a major flaw in the anthology is the constant repetition of facts that have already been narrated many times before. Probably the author writes the articles one at a time, in isolation, without reference to any other piece in the anthology. So he finds it necessary to furnish a complete geographical and historical background to each essay before introducing the story. Hence, the hapless reader is subjected to perusing the same information over and over again.

Fatmi’s writing style is reminiscent of a grandfather telling stories at bedtime. He begins a topic, meanders away in a different direction, then returns to the subject in hand only to wander off again. His diffused way of narration brings to mind Virginia Woolf’s stream of consciousness with a desi twist.

Notwithstanding the repetitions and the digressions, Namurad Karachi is undoubtedly the product of a wide range of knowledge and a fertile pen. Fatmi’s language flows on the page with facility and is easy to read. He is articulate and accessible and does not flinch from a clear-eyed examination of the various eras that Karachi has gone through. This makes the book appealing to people who live in the city and also to those who want to learn about it.

The reviewer is a freelance writer, author of the novel The Tea Trolley and translator of Toofan Se Pehlay: Safar-i-Europe Ki Diary

Published in Dawn, Books & Authors, September 8th, 2024