Parsi Colony Karachi: Why are these houses empty?

[dexter]

کراچی میں پرانی طرز پر بنے گھروں نے اب بلند و بالا عمارات کی شکل اختیار کر لی ہے۔ لیکن اب بھی ایک علاقہ ایسا ہے جہاں یہ پرانی طرز پر بنے گھر موجود ہیں۔
-یہ کب، کیوں اور کہاں تعمیر ہوئے، جانیے سحر بلوچ اور محمد نبیل کی اس ویڈیو میں

The old-fashioned houses in Karachi have now taken the form of high-rise buildings. But there is still an area where these old-fashioned houses exist.
Find out when, why, and where they were built in this video by Sehar Baloch and Muhammad Nabil.

 

[ghazi52]

City Walk – Around Katrak Parsi Colony





Parsi influence on Karachi’s architecture is immense. Parsi businessmen and philanthropists commissioned some of the most remarkable structures in Karachi especially at the turn of last century.

People still don’t hesitate to spend lavish sum of money on buildings in present day Karachi but the city suffers from our collective lack of aesthetics and sense of community living. We can all learn a few things from Parsis, not just sense of aesthetics but life in general too.

Drive to Katrak Parsi Colony and you will get to see the city you never knew. With low boundary walls, manicured gardens, old trees and community areas taking central stage, it showcases how Parsis envisioned living in modern day Karachi.

The Karachi Walla was with a British visitor, born to a Pakistani and Iranian couple. We parked our car at the entrance of the colony and walked towards the central park. The central park has Banu Mandal, the community center on one side while there is a library on other side known as Bhedwar Library. There were trees and some beautiful trees and not the usual conocarpus which has descended on our town like plague.

We walked from one end of the colony to another. I was uber excited as I have not found leisure walk such a pleasure anywhere else in the city. But it was not just me as my partner kept running from one house to another.

She told me that she found it weird when her family in Karachi did not let her walk to the grocery store in their neighborhood. She soon realized the norms and limitations of women in Karachi and hence was as delighted to find such a perfect getaway.

MA Jinnah road has become a perennial favorite of religious and political parties for holding rallies and protests. Therefore most of the lanes connecting Parsi Colony to the main road has been blocked permanently with the help of containers. Parsi population has been dwindling in the city and a lot of houses are lying vacant but Banu Mandal still brims with life during festivities.

God Bless Parsis. God Bless Karachi.























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[ghazi52]

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[SecularNationalist]

The design and size of those luxury house tells a lot about how wealthy those parsis were. They are no doubt a very educated people with excellent sense of doing business.
In rawalpindi we have only one parsi family left. The bhandara family owner of murree brewery.
Also never I heard about any parsi spewing hatred against another religion in pakistan or elsewhere. Never in any kind of crime or communal hatred. Very self disciplined people,with strong sense of community ,always giving something positive to others.

 

[aryobarzan]

This place looks magnificent to me..A bit of renovation and would look world class. Perfect to have nice shops and cafes if some business people step up and spend some $$ on it..The building architectures are just amazing..

 

[Sage]

The design and size of those luxury house tells a lot about how wealthy those parsis were. They are no doubt a very educated people with excellent sense of doing business.
In rawalpindi we have only one parsi family left. The bhandara family owner of murree brewery.
Also never I heard about any parsi spewing hatred against another religion in pakistan or elsewhere. Never in any kind of crime or communal hatred. Very self disciplined people,with strong sense of community ,always giving something positive to others.

Agreed...same experience.

 

[airmarshal]

Its so evocative.

I wonder with such corruption in Sind, how come these homes on prime land still intact and not encroached?