Written by Hana Akram
The Heritage Walk Karachi is an academic walk meant to inform and educate people about the state of heritage sites in Old Town Karachi, and for most people, it is a chance to understand and engage with the history of our city. My experience of the Heritage Walk Karachi was heavily influenced by the time I had spent interning at the Pakistan Chowk Community Centre. I have attended the Heritage Walk Karachi twice now. Once with my school, and once as a guide during my internship.
Having been a part of the HWK journal project, I gained an understanding of the significance of many buildings in the Old Town area. The rich history that each building contains, telling tales of the previous tenants and the ways they might have come to this area. Migrating from various parts of the subcontinent, looking to find a new home or gain an education. Histories of the buildings can be learned by asking people and listening to their stories.
The façade of a building also tells you so much about its history. The Art Deco style is from the 1930’s, while more Gothic style architecture can be attributed to before that. The building could be made of local Gizri sandstone, or the opulent pink stone from Jaipur. The details of metal work or intricate carving can indicate the faith of the person(s) that originally built the building. I felt a sense of delight every time I was able to correctly identify these features on the buildings I saw. I felt proud of the fact that I was able to recognize these architectural details and share them with the group of people I was guiding.
The Mendoza Building Photo credit: the author
However, with knowing all this, it made going on the Heritage Walk a sad experience. Being aware of the time and care people had once given these buildings, and the rich histories that have resulted, makes me want to cry when I saw the state that these buildings are in today. The state a disarray and decay that many of these buildings were in was heartbreaking. In some cases, it was easy to see how they further degraded since the last walk I had been on. The English signage on the Sarnagati Building was once intact, and now has been completely removed. The Mendoza Building is a crumbling façade, slowly being worn down. The stained-glass windows of the Kanji Building as slowly crumbling away along with the rest of the free-floating façade.
The Heritage Walk Karachi is not meant to be a cheerful or hopeful walk. It is meant to make people realize just what we are losing for the sake of progress and development. Being an academic walk, the PCCC engages with students such as myself so that we may understand our city better and have the desire and motivation to preserve our history in a way that allows future generations of students to come attend a Heritage Walk and feel a sense of hope.