M.A.

JINNAH RD.
@shahrahejinnah

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Samrah Iqbal (AR-016)

Iqra Shahid (AR-033)
M.A.
JINNAH RD.
@shahrahejinnah

Write up &
Bibliography

Samrah Iqbal (AR-016)

Iqra Shahid (AR-033)
 Shahrah-e-Jinnah
In an era where the common city dweller does not know the city, two wandering architecture students have set out on a
mission to find out more about their historic hometown. To carry out this venture, we have set up an Instagram account
that aims to bring forward what has been lost to the years, to bring forward what is lying behind closed doors and in
unexplored premises. The old city has a story to tell, and we are here to listen to it.
The making of this account serves to reach those who are romantics of the city, those who wish to know more about this
abode that they can’t decide they love or hate, or just about anyone who craves to have a connection with this crumbling
metropolis before it succumbs to the pressures of its countless inhabitants and the commercialization mongering. To
carry out our endeavors, the use of social media hopes to have our content reach this desired viewership.
At the end of the day, the goal is for our viewers to leave knowing at least a bit more than they came with. This account is
to record our experiences while exploring the old Bunder Road, taking our viewers along for the adventure.
Our methodology involves sharing our information through imagery and graphics, with a focus on photography as a
medium. We are focusing more on the physical aspects of urbanity, and with that comes shedding light on the decay of
heritage architecture and how it is affecting the urban fabric of the old town. Through the combination of images
portraying old heritage, and captions hoping to create some food for thought to think about the rapidly changing and
deteriorating urban character of the old town, we hope to relay information about this part of the city to our audience.
The scope of this project is limited to MA Jinnah road from Numaish to KPT, as well as some of the surrounding vicinity
along the street, to learn more about how the physicality of the street changes along the way.
Why is it important for people to know about these parts of the city? Because even when people with no related
background in art or architecture or history have a glimpse of these buildings, and really look at them, they stop and
think for a moment about how things could have been. They think, what if we had more buildings like this and they were
taken care of and not left to rot in their dilapidated states? We ask: what was, what is, and what could be?

Objective and Projected Impact 1

One can only look at the stone-faced, monotonous concrete structures, such as those lining MA Jinnah at
Numaish, for so long before feeling that monotony and routine seep into their lives as well. Watching
skeletons such as those of the Midtown Hospital and parking lots line the horizon all the way from Shahrah-
e-Qaideen, posing forever for a picture that was never taken (and might never will be).
Exploring the idea of ‘what was, what is, and what could have been’, we aim to dive deeper into the scene
presented by our focus i.e. heritage; be it heritage architecture, communities or practices. By embracing this
heritage that was thought to be foreign (but built by the natives – and is that not a thought to ponder upon?),
we want to question the importance of the character and identity it gives to the urban fabric of the old city
thoroughfare.
The aim now, is to see where this vanishing heritage stands in the context of the present, in the context of the
old Bunder Road. Why is it something to be remembered? The aim of reminding, is not to convince that
preserving these buildings can make the streets look like something out of old London (as one such passerby
had commented upon experiencing the revitalization of the road where the façade of the Imperial Custom
House stands: ‘It’s like you’re in London!’, he exclaimed). The aim is to make the audience see that this is
Karachi, and it always has been.
Some posts will be more informational and gaining towards spreading an awareness of what exists, a form of
virtual edu-tourism. Some ideas for the future that will provide more insight into the direction we want to
take this account into are listed below:
Content ideas and direction:
 Carousel posts or reels to show a comparison of architecture and spaces, the then and now. The present
photos will be attempted to be taken from the same or similar spots to the images from the past to see the
change more prominently.

Objective and Projected Impact 2

 A post covering the idea of the emotional attachment and the feeling of awe inspired by the encounters with the old
heritage buildings and the facades adorned with intricate stone work.
 Covering the manner in which people perceive two architecture students who are immersed in their own world,
surrounded by the old buildings standing both in glory and in decay, telling a tale of their survival. Passersby will
look at them in question, their eyes shifting in the same direction to see what has captivated these two wanderers,
and finding nothing.
 Exploring the narrow streets of the old markets, and observing what makes the atmosphere, and what gives these
hidden bazaars their character
 Studying the idea of how Bunder Road served as a boundary to divide the city into the white town and native town -
a racially discriminating decision and an act of superiority
 The organic growth of the city along MA Jinnah
 A post on Keamari - what makes Karachi a port city. MA Jinnah Road always comes with mentions of Keamari on
one of its ends, the harbour always a prominent point
 Together with the above concept, explore KPT and the Imperial Custom House - the revitalization of the street
facing the Custom House and how restoring the street and the old facade upgraded the nearby vicinity as well.
 Parsi colony as a fossilized society, a 'Ghost Town' - a neighbourhood strictly for an ethnic group, the 100-year
lease, how eventually the Parsis left, losing their prominence in the city, and how the declaration of the colony as
whole being branded a heritage is the only fact keeping the land mafias from razing it to the ground

Objective and Projected Impact 3

M.A.
JINNAH RD.
@shahrahejinnah

Bibliography

Samrah Iqbal (AR-016)

Iqra Shahid (AR-033)
Bibliography
1. Baillie, A. F. (1890). Kurrachee (Karachi) past, present, and future. Calcutta: Thacker Spink.
2. Bremner, G. A. (2016). Architecture and Urbanism in the British Empire. New York: Oxford University Press.
3. Cheema, Y. (2007). The Historical Quarters of Karachi. Karachi: Oxford University Press.
4. Farhan, E. (2019, June 26). MA Jinnah Road’s Public Spaces as a Heterotopia. Retrieved from Pakistan Chowk
Community Centre: https://www.pakistanchowk.com/blog/2019/6/26/ma-jinnah-roads-public-spaces-as-a-heterotopia
5. Hasan, A. (2016). Emerging Urbanisation trends: The case of Karachi.
6. Hasan, A. (2016-2019). City Development planning: An alternative perspective. Karachi.
7. Huzaifa, I. (2019, June 27). Pakistan Chowk Community Centre. Retrieved from From Past to Present: The Journey of
Infrastructure in Old Town: https://www.pakistanchowk.com/blog/2019/6/27/from-past-to-present-the-journey-of-
infrastructure-in-old-town
8. Karrar, M. Z. (n.d.). Mapping an Alternative Network for a Mega City: The Case of the Donkey Carts of Karachi.
Sustainable Architecture and Urban Development, 395-410.
9. Lari, Y., & Lari, M. S. (1996). The Dual City: Karachi During the Raj. Karachi: Heritage Foundation.
10. Mazhar, M., Varoo, D. Y., Farid, L., & Ain, Q. U. (2022). Heritage Evaluation in Everyday Urban Development.
Karachi: Marvi Mazhar & Associates.
11. Mohib, M. (2002). Urban Planning for Karachi During the Post Independence Period: Review, Analysis and Lessons
Learnt. Journal of Research in Architecture and Planning, 1, 41-49.
12. Mughal, O. (2007, September 14). The Karachi Tramway of Yesteryears. Retrieved from All Things Pakistan:
http://pakistaniat.com/2007/09/14/karachi-tramway-of-yesteryears/
13. Ovais, H. (2013). Community and Architecture: Contribution Retrospect in Karachi During The British Raj Case of
Saddar Bazaar. Journal of Research in Architecture and Planning: Vol. 15, 2013 (Second Issue) - Architecture, Urban
Design & Planning, 55-73.
14. Rustomji, B. S., & Katrak, S. K. (2007). Karachi During the British Era: Two Histories of a Modern City.
Karachi: Oxford University Press.
15. (n.d.). Sacred - Derai, Rambagh & Artillery Quarter. Karachi: Habib University.
16. Saigol, M. (n.d.). Afterlives of Karachi's Anglo-Imperial Vernacular Architecture. Retrieved from Anthropology
of Architecture: https://www.anthropologyofarchitecture.com/afterlives-of-karachis-ango-imperial-vernacular-
architecture
17. Viqar, S. (2010). Modernity and its Discontents: Colonial Spatial Order In Karachi. Traditional Dwellings and
Settlements Review, Vol. 22, No. 1, THE UTOPIA OF TRADITION: Twelfth Conference of the International
Association for the Study of Traditional Environments, 16.
18. Viqar, S. (2015). Interrogating Conceptions of 'Modernity' and 'Tradition' in the Production of the Built
Environment in South Asia. Journal of Research in Architecture and Planning.
19. Viqar, S., & Anwar, N. H. (2014). Producing cosmopolitan Karachi: Freedom, security and urban redevelopment
in the post-colonial metropolis. South Asian History and Culture, 328-348.
20. Balouch, A. (2014, March 31). The unwashed Bandar Road. Retrieved from Dawn:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1096832
21. Referred to for Post 2 (reel): “To the drivers who have been commuting to and from this road for over 50 years,
it is and shall always be Bandar Road.”
22. Reference for Post 5 (reel): “‘Bandar Road say Kemari, meri chali ray ghorra gaari… Babu hojana footpath pay.’
1. Those are lines from one of Ahmed Rushdi’s famous song about Karachi’s Bandar Road.”
23. M A Jinnah Road, Karachi. (n.d.). Retrieved from graana.com:
https://www.graana.com/area/4060/m_a_jinnah_road
24. Library, T. F. (2008). Kalachi, Kurrachee, Karachi: biography of a metropolis. Retrieved from
https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Kalachi,+Kurrachee,+Karachi:+biography+of+a+metropolis.-a0188157370
25. References taken for Post 3 (maps): “And so in February 1839, HMS Wellesley…… a dark cloud over the town,
turning day into night.”
1. “Now Kurrachee became the British gateway…… rumoured to own half the city.”
26. Reference taken for Post 4 (maps): “Other immigrants…… residents were from outside Sindh.”
26. “With Karachi the capital…… country's third port.”
27. “Karachi, the fastest growing city…… twice the national rate.”
27. (n.d.). Retrieved from Historic Karachi: http://historickarachi.weebly.com/
28. Hasan, A. (1996, August 27). Conserving Karachi’s Historic Architecture. Retrieved from Arif
Hasan: http://arifhasan.org/articles/conserving-karachis-historic-architecture
29. Hussain, S. (2017, November 19). Places at Risk. Retrieved from The News:
https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/564396-places-risk
30. Mazhar, M., Varoo, D. Y., Farid, L., & Ain, Q. U. (2022, June 12). The City of Lost Heritage.
Retrieved from Dawn: https://www.dawn.com/news/1694421/the-city-of-lost-heritage