The Karachi Walla

Diwan Dayaram Chellaram Mirchandani was city surveyor in Karachi and he passed away in 1927. He was survived by his wife ‘Shrimati Apliba’. How do we know it? Because Shrimati Apliba erected a water trough in memory of her late husband. It was a common practice to construct institutions or buildings of public welfare and […]

By the start of 17th century, the port in Thatta was dysfunctional due to the accumulation of silt. Sindhi merchants who operated from there decided to setup a new port on the shores of present day Karachi. The built a fortified settlement which had two gates, Kharadar and Mithadar. Kharadar opened towards the sea and […]

The Karachi Walla drove to Mehmoodi Street in North Nazimabad Block-J to witness the opening night of Cafe Commune, a community space and cafe. It was a long and unpleasant drive as one would expect during Saturday evening in Karachi. We arrived late but luckily did not miss much as the event had started late. […]

Another water trough that has survived the brunt of changing times and values. The last one that I documented was near Pakistan Chowk and both of them are not very different from each other. Both of them were built with Gizri stone. Both of them served the same purpose. Both of them were donated by […]

My friends have been telling me how Lyari gets transformed during FIFA world Cup for many years. I stayed away from the area due to my own misconceptions. I regret that now but still wonder wonder how it would have been during peak gang wars time which by the ways seems like a distant memory, […]