I AM offended when someone says that Karachi is a boring city and there is nothing to do. I believe Karachi has a lot of things to keep you occupied.

We have beautiful malls in the main areas of the city, cinemas and of course the most favourite thing in a Pakistani’s life — eateries. But we also have other things that can be interesting to some people: the historical gems scattered around the city.

Being an amateur history buff, I recommend that you plan a historical trip around Karachi. But naturally you will have to check the security forecast of the city before going out as you don’t want to get stuck. Pack a picnic basket, loads of water bottles, apply a thick layer of sunscreen or wear a hat, shades and joggers and off you go.

Maybe you could begin your journey from the beautiful architectural gem, Frere Hall on Abdullah Haroon Road. No, don’t write this off. I know a large number of people pass this place every day and have attended exhibitions there but take some time out to study Frere Hall and the architectural beauty surrounding it.

I could go on and on about the history of the place, but for now I will restrict myself to one particular structure — the stone pillar located near the iron gates located on Fatima Jinnah Road.

The stone pillar is hard to miss, but for many who are focussed on the main building this somehow blends into the historical surroundings of Frere Hall’s structure and is mostly ignored.

This stone memorial commemorates those British and Indian officers and soldiers who laid down their lives in World War I for the British.

During my many visits to Frere Hall, I always studied this stone pillar and wondered what Karachi was like during the era. Interestingly, when I mentioned this memorial to my friends, I was astonished to find that many people didn’t know what I was talking about. They can’t seem to relate this region with WWI and why we would have a memorial.

I think the reason why so many people were unaware of this memorial was because this part of Frere Hall wasn’t easily accessible for a long time because of the bad law and order situation in the city. After a good friend got permission for me — after pulling some strings — I was able to take some nice but hurriedly taken pictures of the monument, albeit with a policeman standing on guard as if my small camera would start spouting bullets.

After trying to take some good shots of the memorial, I finally got irritated with the policeman, who kept trying to block something that was invisible to me and my camera. I told him that I wasn’t James Bond nor was I snapping secret photos of ‘sensitive’ things. But to tell you the truth I couldn’t see anything; the only ‘sensitive’ things that I could see around me through my small camera and its limited range were trees and the wrought iron fence of Frere Hall.

But I was happy with the shots I got of the memorial and they were worth the trouble. I wanted to savour this opportunity because I wasn’t sure when the public would be allowed in here (fortunately the road was opened to the public shortly after my visit).

I walked around the monument several times, trying to remember the names of the soldiers engraved on the stone monument in English and Urdu, who had laid down their lives and tried to imagine how it must have felt to leave one’s country to fight in a distant land, leaving family and loved ones behind. This memorial is worth a visit especially for writers and students of art, history and architecture.

Constructing memorials of beauty to commemorate events takes a lot of thought and work. Comparatively speaking, many of the memorials and monuments that we construct only add to make the city look worse — eyesores which seem to be put up in a hurry without any thought or planning put in. —Lubna Jerar Naqvi