Accounts of Old Karachi

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Karachi: some scenes from the past.

Shaikh Aziz
DAWN - July 19, 2002.

Imagine a tram slowly moving through the ever-busy Saddar area as the commuters jump on and climb down from the moving vehicle. The jam-packed, 19th-century vehicle, punctuated by its typical bell makes its way all along from Cantonment Railway Station to Keamari. It is the most popular means of transport for the general public.

A mixed gathering of all ages and income groups glued to their chairs, eyes down on their bingo cards, attentively cutting the numbers at the caller's voice, are interrupted by a loud voice that says "House" from another corner. Many curse themselves, while the checking of the bidder on two cards begins.

Some anglers sit at the roadside at the Napier Mole with their fishing rods held carefully, the eager cine-goers queue at cinema houses, and the glare of the nightclubs and bars. These were some scenes of Karachi's evening life some three decades ago, now part of the history of this sprawling city.

Thirty years back, Karachi - rising from a city of little over 350,000 souls at the time of Independence to 3.6 million people in 1970 - was bursting at the seams. But then, there was life beyond a day's hard work. While some found a cinema house for viewing movies, others, who could afford it, melted the evening in revelling, attending bars, visiting high class restaurants, nightclubs, bingo (Tambola), roadside eateries, besides the old and new colonial-style clubs for the affluent class, that still exist.

Eating houses were much different from what they are today. The McDonalds and KFCs had not yet reached the city but its indigenous form was there. Among the better ones, Bundoo Khan and similar type of restaurants were the main attraction for Karachiites then. Bundoo Khan started his business in 1950s from a small hut-restaurant on Regal Chowk, with Paratha and kebab on the menu. In the years to follow, it became one of the most popular eateries of the city and today it is one of the popular spicy food centres with branches in other parts of the city.

Bhakra Hotel in Mithadar, the residential area of the business community, was another popular place and it is still doing well today. It is famous for its tasty paya, in addition to a variety of other spicy dishes. Since the residents remain awake for almost the whole night, the hotel has a remarkable attendance, including the latecomers from other area of the city. Al-Farooq and Salatin were two other food outlets that catered to the needs of every visitor wishing to have spicy food. Located in Saddar and still retaining their popularity, the two eating places were the first to introduce murgh mussalam. Both the hotels had all kinds of clients, and it was at these two places where families would go to enjoy mouthwatering food at affordable prices.

Another eating house which has attained unprecedented popularity is the Student's Biryani House, located behind what is today the Rainbow Centre. Its simple biryani, served in a simple way gained such popularity that people from far off places used to come and eat here. It is still there, much modernized and extended, but still ever popular. Then there was Shalamar restaurant, a roadside hotel opposite PAF museum on Shara-i-Faisal, which opened after sunset. Its uniqueness was its location. An open-air restaurant, it offered a very cozy atmosphere where one could relax and enjoy good food.

The nightclubs and bars had a world of its own. Technically, it was a business but in operation it fell somewhere between underworld and the over-world, where police, excise, 'dadas', muggers and all kinds of hired men would come. While the bars opened from morning, the nightclubs opened its doors after sunset for the clients who had booked their tables earlier. But often there were fights between the gatecrashers and club 'dadas', who would be there to ensure that things went on peacefully.

It is difficult to say when the first nightclub opened up in Karachi, as some bungalows in posh areas also ran their mini clubs, but in late 1950s there were many places that the 'elite' would go to for recreational activities. While some nightclubs were at distant places, most of them were clustered in Saddar and its adjoining areas. In all, there were about a dozen bars in the vicinity, some of them very close to each other, an equal number of snooker rooms and about half dozen nightclubs. Most of the nightclubs were run by hotels, like Oasis in Taj Hotel, Le Gourmet in Palace Hotel, Samar at Metropole. There were also exclusive nightclubs like Kido on Queen's Road and Excelsior in Saddar, opposite Palmgrove.

The nightclub life was unique in its nature and functioning. The seats were booked in advance, as was the practise in European clubs. The rest used the principle of 'first-come-first-served' basis, nonetheless, the underhand dealings led to ugly scenes almost every night. Normally, the gates were closed as soon as the seats were occupied to the capacity. There were regular and occasional visitors and public relations people. The clubs offered drinks above normal prices and the visitors came after the show began. Once the doors were closed, the gatekeepers faced difficulty when swinging visitors turned up and sought admission to the dance floor. And then there were visitors who created unpleasant scenes on the discotheque floor. The management of every club knew about it and employed special staff to handle such situations, which often ended in physical ouster of the trouble-makers. Such actions had to be taken to ensure the regular visitors would enjoy themselves and not be troubled by troublemakers.

But then, this was not the end of the show. If black-marketeers, corrupt officials, feudal lords and men with questionable sources of income were the clients, there would be more than simple dancing there. There was fun and frolic behind the scenes. There were clubs for all classes of people. Intercontinental was the first five-star hotel in the town. It had two lounges - Nasreen and Chandni. Nasreen was the ballroom plus barroom. It also brought dancers from abroad but put modest advertisements in the newspapers. Its clientele included top businessmen, executives and high class PR men.

Among the rest, Excelsior in Saddar was popular with an entry fee of 250 rupees. It brought dancers from Rome, Beirut and other cities and advertised about it in the newspapers. It was followed by Oasis Nite Club in Taj, opposite the Chief Minister's House. Samar was the nightclub at Metropole, which too offered DD (drinks and dance) service to its visitors and had international dancers presenting shows rather frequently. Princess Amina from Beirut was one of its regular performers.

Le Gourmet was another 'hot spot'. It was run by the Palace Hotel where performers from abroad were the main attraction. It was visited by people of all classes and tastes. Lido was located in the Imperil Hotel on Queens Road, frequently visited by all shades of people, specially people with modest income. Roma Shabana, an addition in late 1960s, was located on Frere Road where the newspapers market is now situated. This club was visited by people of average income and often there would be scuffles taking place. It also boasted of having shows of attractive performers from abroad.

The Horseshoe was a little far from Saddar, therefore, it was visited by only those who chose to go there. Located on Shara-i- Faisal, opposite what is today the Duty-Free Shop, it had no regular dancing floor. Couples, mainly comprising middle class businessmen who wanted to avoid the busy nightclub atmosphere, often went there for dancing. It was a modest club and rarely there was any scuffle there.

Penthouse, Hotel Midway and Skyroom were later additions to the city. Penthouse was opened at the top of the PNSC building. Equipped with a ballroom and bar, it also had dancers coming from abroad for performances. The Skyroom was opened as a restaurant for the people who came to receive or drop their relatives at the airport. It had two portions - the restaurant and the barroom, Kebana. It was advertised in the beginning with this slogan: "A hot cup of tea, a hurried sandwich or snack, or a gracious meal. Drinks too, from a well-stocked bar." Similarly, Midway was also opened as a residential hotel at the airport, which was mostly frequented by the boarders.

Bingo, or housey-housey, was a pastime for those who tried their luck on cards. It was played under a licence and there were many places where the game was arranged. At least six places were known for bingo, which included St Joseph Hospital, Merchant Navy Club, Preventive Officers Club, which was known for fair play. There were regular and occasional visitors to these places. In fact, the game had a great following because it was not considered as gambling. Very rarely were there any scuffles.

Besides these, there were many other activities, which continue till today, but many things have changed radically after the end of the Bhutto era, specially after the change in the political culture of Karachi. The city has developed many new characteristics which were alien till mid-1970s. As any period of the past, perhaps the 1950-1970 era was memorable as the city grew in all direction but was still far away from the Kalshnikov and heroin culture one finds today.

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