KARACHI: Listening to architect Mukhtar Husain in conversation with fellow architect Khadija Jamal to introduce his book of memoirs, titled Foundations and Form, at the Karachi Club Annexe on Monday felt like the author greeting you from a window of his house and then opening a door to invite you inside to meet up close the architect, teacher, writer, critic and family man.

Written originally for his grandchildren, all of whom reside abroad and have gone through different cultures and experiences while their own country Pakistan has been left out, he wanted to tell them about this land, which is his base, by writing about his life and experiences here.

While talking about his career as an architect, he said that he had decided at the age of 10 that he was going to become an architect. “But then after completing school, I realised that there was no architectural college in Karachi. That was when one of my teachers in Grammar School suggested I study architecture in Turkiye,” he said.

He was 17 when he proceeded to Turkiye to be exposed to that part of the world. Today, he calls it his second home. Graduating in December 1971, almost at the same time as the fall of Dhaka, he was asked by his father to not return home as things were not looking up here. “He asked me to study further in order to stay back in Turkiye so I thought I would do a Master’s in industrial design,” he added.

The course was supposed to take him two years to complete but circumstances were such that he finished the course in six months to keep pace with a teacher who was going away. As things had still not improved in the job market by June 1972 in Pakistan, Mukhtar was again asked by his father to not return. So this time he went to Europe, to Munich and then Frankfurt where he settled down as a worker in a food factory.

Making a bit of money after working there for three months, he returned to Turkiye in February 1973 but soon his parents asked him to return to Pakistan where he started working with a private sector construction company. In 1997, he also decided to open his own firm after working with other companies. He also worked on the airport project in Karachi.

“Karachi has always been my anchor. I was born here, I studied here but Karachi has changed as it grew from a city of a million to a city of 25 million people. Still, I belong here. I have traveled to more than 40 countries but I always yearn to return here,” he said.

Throughout the book, as observed by the moderator, there are two main persons, who have had a huge influence in his life; his father Inayat Husain and his better half Rumana Malik Husain. “There are few people who know me, who also knew my father but everyone who knows me, knows Rumana because she takes interest in my work and is always by my side,” he said.

About his father, he said that he looked up to him. “I used to constantly correspond with him from Turkiye, Germany, Switzerland, etc. I had his guidance throughout. Then when I returned to Pakistan, he gave me all the letters I had written to him. When I re-read them, I found so much data. Also, I have been writing travel diaries myself. So when writing my memoirs, I had so much data and records thanks to both of these sources,” he said.

On the occasion, Mukhtar’s life partner, Rumana Husain disclosed that her rukhsati was exactly 47 years ago. She said had she written a book about Mukhtar, it would focus on her 47 years with him. “He is the most caring and loving husband,” she said, adding that he is also a very honest man. “I have also seen him turn down projects. We may not be rolling in money but our conscience is clear,” she said.

Adil Husain, the couple’s son, also spoke on the occasion. He said that he left home to go abroad some 27 years ago. “There have been moments in my life when I have needed his advice and regardless of the distance between us, he has always been there for me.”

Jamal Sangu, the Consul General of Turkiye, the chief guest on the occasion, also spoke about some great architectural designs in the world that are all the creation of great human architects.

Published in Dawn, March 5th, 2024