‘Karanchi Wala 2’ sifts outmore myths from history of city

In his fourth book titled ‘Karanchi Wala 2’, Akhter Balouch has tried to draw attention to the different aspects of the glorious past and the chaotic present of the sprawling metropolis.This is the journalist, rights activist and academic’s second book that is based on his myth-busting blog posts about the history of Karachi and the remnants of its cosmopolitan culture, using references of rarely available publications, researches and interviews.In the book’s preface, noted historian Dr Mubarak Ali terms Balouch an “emerging public historian”, saying that research-based work is very limited in Pakistan mainly because of the chaos in society.“The key aspect of Balouch’s writing is his research-based journalism, through which he tries to explore the characters and places hidden in history, and presents them to his readers,” he writes. “But the good thing is that he has also tried to explore the characters of other towns and cities of Sindh in the book.”Similar to his previous book, Balouch’s new volume contains 27 pieces touching on different subjects related to the city. They vary from buildings and parks to personalities and communities.Balouch told The News that two more books on Karachi discussing similar topics will be published soon. His main objective of writing about Karachi is to make the residents aware of the massive contributions of different communities, personalities, buildings and academic institutions in developing the city, as well as philanthropic activities, entrepreneurship, education, art and music.The book in question has two pieces on the place of birth of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and covering different aspects of his life and his only child Dina Wadia.The topics of some of the pieces in the book include the demystifying of the date of the Pakistan Resolution, Sindhi Sufi poet Bhagat Kanwar Ram, the struggle of noted communist leader Jam Saqi, and the fascinating hobbies of Maharajas and Nawabs.Empress MarketIn his piece on Karachi’s attractive 150-year-old Empress Market, Balouch linked its construction with the 1857 mutiny, when freedom fighter Ramdin Panday and his friends revolted against the British rulers, but they were arrested.The British army hanged Panday’s 11 colleagues in the square where the Empress Market would be built, while Panday, who was arrested later, was also executed in the same place after being tied to a canon along with four of his accomplices.The Empress Market was built just to ensure that the people visiting the place do not pay homage to the martyred soldier, Balouch writes in the book.Aram BaghDiscussing the story of Aram Bagh (formerly Ram Bagh), which is situated near Burns Road, he writes that Ram Bagh was an old, historic ground in Karachi that was always reserved for Hindus’ religious events and gatherings before Partition.The religious books of Hinduism have it about this ground that Ram had spent a night there during his journey to Hinglaj in Balochistan. Before and after Partition, Ram Leela (the story of Ram) was usually presented on stage in Ram Bagh.However, in the post-Partition scenario, most Hindus of Karachi migrated to India and Ram Leela could never be presented in Karachi again. Gradually, it became impossible for it to be presented on stage anywhere in the city.Ashura processionSharing his experience of visiting Narayan Pura, an old neighbourhood in the Ranchore Line area, during Ashura, Balouch said Hindus belonging to the Harijan community took part in the procession and arranged Sabeels.A Hindu community leader said that for over a century, long before Partition, Hindus of Karachi had been actively taking part in the procession during Muharram.Hyder ManzilWriting on Hyder Manzil — a bungalow built by prominent Sindhi nationalist ideologue GM Syed in 1933 and demolished last month after his grandsons sold it — Balouch said the residence was built on the advice of the first elected mayor, Jamshed Nusserwanji, and it played a key role in the province’s politics before and after Partition.Balouch writes that Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto, the great-grandfather of Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, had founded the Sindh Peoples Party at this venue.“When political differences emerged between Syed and Allah Bakhsh Soomro in 1934, Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad visited Hyder Manzil to woo Syed to reconcile with Soomro,” he writes.Other figures who visited Hyder Manzil included the Father of the Nation, Shaikh Mujibur Rehman, the Sindh Assembly’s first speaker Miran Muhammad Shah, Bacha Khan, Ghous Bakhsh Bizenjo, Hyder Bakhsh Jatoi and Altaf Hussain.

from The News International - Karachi https://ift.tt/2SLRLJ5