KARACHI, Dec 27: At least 126 stalls at the four halls of the Expo Centre in Gulshan-i-Iqbal buzzed with activity as the two- day exhibition titled “All about lifestyles” got under way on Saturday.

The exhibition is being organized by the Dawn Group of Newspapers.

Held in the fourth hall of the Expo Centre, the exhibition showcasing the history of Karachi certainly stole the show. Titled “Jewel in the Crown: Karachi under the Raj (1843-1947)”, the show features portraits, photographs and exhibits highlighting Karachi’s development under the British Raj. The exhibition, which was inaugurated by Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz, has been put together by collecting exhibits from private collections, international sources, government warehouses and archives.

The 200 photographs put on display at the exhibition, curated by Hameed Haroon and Hameed Akhund, includes 69 portraits, pictures of old and historical buildings of Karachi, enlarged postcards, original architectural designs of buildings such as the Karachi Municipal Corporation and paintings showing caravans. In addition, a 400-foot-long collage of blown-up photographs taken by architect Arif Hasan shows the buildings on M.A. Jinnah Road (formerly Bunder Road) from Saeed Manzil to Merewether Tower.

In the centre of the hall stood a victoria, a decorated four- wheeled horse-drawn carriage with seats for two passengers and an elevated driver’s seat in front, which has been ably made by a student of the Karachi Art School.

Furthermore, a shoeshine man, an elderly person with tarot cards, a massager and a roadside vendor selling candyfloss also occupied the centre of the hall, capturing the atmosphere of old Karachi.

Mannequins wearing pre-partition dresses, cardboard cut-outs of waiters dressed in white and metallic statues of the British period, obtained from the Sindh Archives Department, also stood in the centre of the hall.

The exhibition, which is dedicated to Saeed Haroon, Mansoor Bokhari and Latif Kapadia, deplored the negligence of the authorities who allowed the Tasman Spirit disaster to happen and endangered the lives of over 18 million people of Karachi and Lower Sindh.

Speaking a little before the official inauguration of the exhibition, Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz said Karachi had had an image problem. He added that the city’s image was fast getting better. He also congratulated the organizers of the exhibition on putting together such an impressive show.

In the remaining three halls of the Expo Centre people bought consumers goods without having to haggle over the price as the companies taking part in the exhibition were selling their products at knock-down rates.

Children gravitated towards the Young World Pavilion where they took part in exciting competitions and walked off with prizes. Those tired of shopping — and in some cases window- shopping — went to what was called the food street by the organizers. They listened to music played by FM89 as they ate their food sitting in the open.