So, it has not always been about Pakistani and Indian fishermen inadvertently crossing over to each other’s international maritime borders or individuals getting caught on espionage chargers. In the 1960s the citizens of both countries were apprehended for other reasons as well. For example, on July 6, 1964, the Karachi customs authorities foiled an attempt made by an Indian national to smuggle 180 tolas of gold into Pakistan.

According to a report published on July 9, a man by the name of Sugandh Shevram Basarmai arrived in Karachi from Sharjah by Syrian Airlines for a seven-hour stopover before he could leave for Bombay (now Mumbai). The customs authorities sensed something fishy and when they searched the man it turned out he was carrying quite a decent amount of gold. Though the news item is not something to look back fondly on, it reminds us of the time when Syrian Airlines used to operate in this region as a cost-effective international mode of transport.

Be it jewellery or food, the laws were strictly followed in those days. The same week the deputy director for food, Ahmed Jan, announced there would be no wholesale atta business without obtaining food grains licence from the Directorate of Food, Karachi. Seriously? You needed a licence to do atta business! These days, unlicensed weapons are no big deal.

Even if you were born in the 1980s, you would remember that there used to be a beautiful aquarium at Clifton. Where it vanished is anybody’s guess. On July 7, (1964, that is) KMC chairman Syed Sardar Ahmed received a gift of a stereoscopic microscope for the Clifton aquarium from the Japanese government. It was a nice gesture on the part of Japan and would have been nicer if the aquarium existed.

Now here’s something from familiar territory. Whoever harbours the notion that boys’ hanging around girls’ schools and colleges is a new phenomenon is sadly mistaken. On July 9, police DIG Asif Majid issued a stern warning to ‘juvenile delinquents who gathered around girls’ school and colleges to create mischief’. You don’t know whether the boys paid heed to the warning (and this writer wasn’t born then), but what you do know is that the ‘mischief’ hasn’t ended.

On July 10, a group of Afro-Asian writers, led by Indonesian writer Rival Apin, arrived in the city. On July 12 they visited the offices of the Pakistan Writers Guild where they were accompanied by Shaukat Siddiqui. After that, the group reached the National Book Centre, where they were received by Ibn-i-Insha, who was then the executive secretary of the centre. And the Afro-Asian authors’ busy schedule on July 12 culminated in a visit to the Urdu Development Board where they were greeted by Mumtaz Hasan.

You wonder how the writers managed to roam around the city because that day it rained cats and dogs in Karachi, from 4am to 7am, bringing the heat down to 12 degrees. Perhaps because the downpour didn’t affect electricity supply and the streets and roads didn’t submerge in water for there was a better system in place. Perhaps.

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2014