WINTER had set in. On Jan 13, 1970 light showers in the forenoon and a cloudy sky brought down the day temperature considerably. Coupled with this sharp decline in the maximum temperature, the wind added to the cold atmosphere. Experts, however, said that this was no cold wave and none was in sight.

One would have thought that there shouldn’t be a water crisis in the city in the winter season. Not true. On Jan 13, the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) announced that the city would go without water supply for 24 hours: from 8pm on Jan 14 to 8pm on Jan 15. The disruption was caused in order to give engineers time to connect the newly constructed siphons which were part of the second phase of the Bulk Water Supply Scheme with the existing water supply system. In all, 13 siphons – starting from Gharo Creek to Pipri Hills –– were to be linked. The work would also necessitate the suspension of water supply from Haleji Lake and the Dumlottee sources.

By the way, this was an interesting time for visitors to the city, and hopefully they didn’t face any such shortage during their stay here. On Jan 14, a Turkish mayor, Muhittin-o-Yar, who was in Karachi on an official visit, advised the Bholu brothers to trim their waistline because bulky bodies went against them in the wrestling ring. The mayor had been a wrestler himself for 18 years. He also demonstrated certain types of weight-reducing exercises. Muhittin-o-Yar met the Bholu siblings at the Darul Sehat, the brothers’ headquarters.

It was good that the Turkish guest didn’t go to the Zoological Gardens that week because the mood there was not a particularly chirpy one. On Jan 16, the police reported that a few days back a year-old black swan, valued at Rs4,000, was stolen from the zoo. The authorities were investigating the theft and had charged-sheeted all the security staff on duty that night. At least one guard was on special duty round the clock in the area where the swans were housed.

On the cultural front, on Jan 16, the New Theatre Group presented Call Mr Shakespeare at the American Centre. The play by Guy Endore, an American novelist, screenwriter and playwright, examined the magic and mystery of William Shakespeare and his identity. A critic wrote, the play’s lack of storyline was compensated by a crafty use of researches and theories about his person. The stage had been projected as such that it brought the actors in the midst of the audience. Frequently, the drama was funny and sarcastic. The bit about Oscar Wilde — reflecting on the practice of the young boy’s playing female roles in Sha kespeare’s time –– was hilarious. So was the sketch of Mark Twain. Both were portrayed well by David Cunningham. It would be unfair, the critic stressed, not to praise the standard of excellence of a big cast of 19-plus who acted as “listeners” — when the play had some familiar scenes from Shakespeare’s plays. Among the cast were: John van Someren, Muzaffar A. Ghaffar, Javed Ali Khan, Jaffar Ali, Nasreen Ismail, Naim Bashir, Neil Wilkinson and Naseem Hussain. Johan van Someren played the main role of the lecturer on Shakespeare with ease and polish, though he seemed to have been exhausted by the end.

Staying on the subject of art, here’ a measure of how Karachi back in the day used to be a city that valued creativity in every walk of life. On Jan 13, at a seminar, Dr Zarina Fazalbhoy, president of the Pakistan Family Planning Association (Karachi Branch) proposed to hire street singers to sing verses on family planning at parks and other public places of amusement in the city. She said the association had already collected lyrics and songs to be sung by professional singers at places such as Clifton and Hill Park to popularise family planning.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2020