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What is a confused mind but one cluttered with many an idea full of ambiguity and doubt. It is lack of clarity, if not its absence, that makes a person appear like a deer caught in the headlights. This can also be said about a big number of old pre-independence buildings in Karachi, especially those that have a residential profile and exist in densely populated areas. Some of these buildings have been so roughly handled that they come across as completely remodelled work of a confused mind — a mishmash, if you like.
The Burnes Road vicinity (some like to spell it Burns Road, nothing wrong with that) is famous for its appetising, if somewhat greasy, food. It is the delectable taste of classic traditional subcontinental food that eclipses the colonial buildings that stand here. Some have not hit the hundred-year mark yet, some have. And it is extremely toilsome to determine how old they are because so much has changed over the years that very few remnants of colonial architecture remain detectable.
The observation is with special reference to that part of Burnes Road which is bang opposite the Government College for Women. You do not have to ask which part of the neighbourhood it is, for every second building has a board which mentions Burnes Road Gali Number 3.
There is a cluster of buildings in this zone and all of them have been modified or altered so many times that anyone who is visiting this part of the city for the first time would not even take it as a pre-partition settlement. First up is Punjabi Mansion. Just in case you try and search for anything different (and colonial) in the building, do not set your hopes high. Still, once you start surveying the balconies and the less visible stonework, you will gradually realise it is a thing of beauty. Alas, the construction on the roof and extra covered space on the ground floor have marred its architectural charm.
Next is Sharif Manzil. No one can tell how old it is because a lot has been added to the façade of the structure. The additional space in the front portion has obscured whatever vintage feel it had. The building, as well as the other two bordering it, seems like a suitcase overstuffed with knick-knacks. Can anyone help it?
The two buildings are not twins, but the reason that they do not look dissimilar is that both have gone through countless changes primarily to create more room. Rest assured, both are pretty old, pre-partition structures.
It is when you reach the last building in this series, Karim Mansion, that you will have an idea about the historicity of these pieces. Despite the fact that like the aforementioned two structures it has been crammed with additions, for some reason, certain architectural elements in the building have been untouched. For example, on top of the mansion there is a motif typical of early 20th century constructions. The stonework employed in the making of the building can also be seen if you look at it a bit harder.
The three buildings exist in a zone divided by a small storm drain on the other side of which there are some more rows of similar buildings (if you keep moving towards Aram Bagh). No different is the case to the left of Gali Number 3. Almost all of them, with the exception of one or two, appear to have been cut from the same cloth.
Architect Noman Ahmed says: “There is a way to handle this issue. If a structure is a declared heritage building and if there is a change in its aesthetic elements then negotiations can be held with the owners to revive it. This is called cooperative restoration, which means the owners give their approval to willingly participate in the process and any organisation that has the technical capacity to undertake the project can come in to play its part with mutual agreement. This can be done without spending oodles of money.
“An interesting example in this regard is of Lahore’s Gawal Mandi. It had gone through many changes when it was declared a food street. The owners there agreed to do their bit when it came to maintenance and the repairing of the facades.
They did so with the help of the local administration, as a result of which it had quite a good impact. Similarly, if we can manage to revive Burnes Road’s heritage then it will have a positive impact on the trading activity and food business in the area.”
If Karachi’s old buildings could speak about the condition they are in, they might echo what an American poet once said about himself: “I have nothing to offer except my own confusion.”
