Referring to animals, a celebrated Victorian writer once said, “They are agreeable friends - they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.” Richmond Crawford mirrored the same 19th century sensibility. Who was Richmond Crawford, by the way? Well, he was a commissioner in Sindh, and was an animal lover. Now imagine a more-than-a-century-old Karachi with a veterinary hospital made of stone. In case it's hard to believe, visiting the Richmond Crawford Veterinary Hospital (RCVH) on M.A. Jinnah Road just a few yards before the famous Radio Pakistan Karachi building will suffice. It's a smallish structure, uncomplicated in character, but rich with history.

This particular area opposite the N.J.V. School, like most old Karachi neighbourhoods, boasts a number of pre-partition buildings constructed when the British held sway over the subcontinent. Some may argue that Radio Pakistan offices were a post-partition product. It's not true. Before it started its broadcasting services (and did a good job at that) the site was a Karachi municipal board property. That's what a man who works for an in-house Urdu magazine Ahang believes.

Originally the area that spanned the veterinary facility to a little before the main Radio Pakistan edifice had barracks which were used as horse stables. They are still there, albeit in a different form. All of them are now part of the broadcasting organisation's workplace.

But let's get back to Richmond Crawford.

There aren't any detailed accounts available on Mr Crawford. He was, for sure, a commissioner in the province we all love and was not only fond of the people he was obliged to look after (or rule over) but also cared immensely for animals. No, by that time George Orwell hadn't written Animal Farm, so there's no element of fear.

It was, according to one version, in 1843 that a veterinary hospital was constructed on two acres of land which the commissioner had acquired himself. His followers and citizens named the facility after him. Students of history, and those who know the city of Karachi inside-out, say Mr Crawford was an 'able' man. You have to believe them.

The hospital served for many, many years, albeit like a government-run infirmary. A few years back it was reported that it could be demolished to make way for a sky-kissing mall. Thank heavens, it was not to be, and this nice work of stonemasonry is intact. Go there and you're bound to come across goats, cats and dogs, etc being treated for different ailments. These days, the doctors say, poor goats are down with pneumonia.

However, looking at it today gives a clear indication that it's in a dire need of restoration. Even the tiles that have been put on the floors in a couple of rooms look as if they've not been polished for a long time.

“An architecturally similar hospital was made in Bombay or Calcutta when this one was constructed in the first half of the 19th century. Also notice the circular colic room for horses. Here the British used to treat their horses with stomach ailments,” says Dr Abdul Wahab Bhutto, the official in charge of the RCVH.

As for Radio Pakistan, it was set up in 1948 at an intelligence school located on Queen's Road. After a year of its functioning it was shifted to where it is now - on M.A. Jinnah Road. Ever since, the building has assumed historical import because of quality broadcasting programming, and luminaries such as Z.A. Bukhari, S.M. Saleem and Abdul Majid who worked here and transformed it into an institution.

Made of stone, the structure has a very prominent cupola on its right side and one that was supposed to adorn the left side is missing. According to an official, it was left incomplete by its constructors for reasons not known. In 1995, the then station director Qamar Ali Abbasi felt the need for sandblasting the building, and the long-due cleaning process took place.

In October 2007, a fire broke out in the building when a children's programme Bachon Ki Duniya was being recorded in Studio 8. It burnt down 14 studios and damaged equipment and priceless archival material, not to mention the gadgets and equipment used since the first sadakar hit the airwaves.

Architect Arif Hasan says, “The Radio Pakistan building has similarities to Palace Hotel which was located where today Sheraton Hotel is. It has the same round turrets and a cupola, and the same style of windows. The stonework has strong Renaissance revivalist influences, much like the 19th century south European architecture.

“As far as the Richmond Crawford Veterinary Hospital goes, it's very simple and austere in design. It has Renaissance revivalist façade, with arches on the ground floor and square windows. The structure has been painted white, which makes the restoration process a bit difficult.”

Some buildings have style, some have grace. But the two structures mentioned above have history as an integral part of their foundation. And that's what makes them doubly noteworthy.

mohammad.salman@dawn.com