WHOEVER thinks that pre-partition Karachi did not keep abreast of the then contemporary artistic (and philosophical) movements influencing the rest of the world is terribly mistaken. Karachi was as aware a city as perhaps Paris or New York. It may not have flaunted modernity the way its European or North American counterparts did, rest assured it knew what was happening in those days.

They say the 1920s saw Art Deco at its apogee. It was a movement that boasted of an assorted, somewhat freer design style. It accepted and encompassed isms that were new or in vogue and even recognised classical attributes. If you were a cubist, you could employ Art Deco, so could a neo-classicist.

The Karachi of the former half of the 20th century mostly had buildings either classically designed or indicating a revivalist trend. There is one significant structure that is referred to as a fine, fine example of Art Deco style. And that is the Karachi Cotton Exchange Building on McLeod Road (now I. I. Chundrigar Road). If you pass by this thoroughfare it wouldn't take much time to appreciate that this structure has characteristics unlike the usual pre-independence works of construction. Since it's made in a style whose origin doesn't date back a century or two, the Karachi Cotton Exchange Building looks pretty much current (or contemporary). Yet, it's not. Isn't that beautiful?

It was in the 1860s (some suggest even before that) that Karachi began to expand commercially. The city was largely used as a port by merchants belonging to Bombay (now Mumbai) from where they could ship products manufactured in Sindh to Europe and vice-versa. Gradually Bombay companies set up their local offices in the city which resulted in the establishment of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce. Soon the town became a business hub, particularly with reference to cotton trade. It is believed that the founding of a home for the cotton trade in Karachi was a strong evidence of the city's commercial importance.

Before 1927, the cotton business was regulated and controlled by the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and the Karachi Indian Merchants Association. As the trade increased the Cotton Association was formed on April 20, 1933. (According to a document, in 1933 cotton arrivals in Karachi totaled 1.6 million bales). In 1936, the site where the Karachi Cotton Exchange Building stands was purchased.

If you read the commemorative plaques that are placed at the bottom of the two walls that form the entrance to the Karachi Cotton Exchange office, you'll know that its foundation stone was laid on Dec 14, 1938 by Mukhi Lilaram Tilokchand and was inaugurated on May 13, 1940 by Niranjan Prasada, the then chairman. By the way, Seth Lilaram Tilokchand was head of the Karachi Sindh Panchayat (1946-47).

In 2010 the structure looks the same from the outside. The façade is as impressive as it was at the time of its inception. The interiors haven't changed a great deal either, but tiny bits of wear and tear are evident. Still, the untouched furniture, the slow-moving ceiling fans and the old pictures that adorn the walls of the building keep the atmosphere authentic.

Chairman of the Karachi Cotton Association Sohail Naseem says “We have no support from the government. We have to pay all the taxes and there's no exemption. We even want to make a new building here keeping the original façade intact. We have to spend money every time a part of the building gets damaged. There are some old constructions in Karachi that the government takes care of, and ours is not one of them. We even have to pay a lot of money for an uninterrupted water supply. For more than a decade we've been buying water. Add to it the issue of a shortage of parking space.” According to the chairman, there was a time when the Karachi Cotton Exchange Building was sealed. Thankfully it didn't remain so for a long time.

Architect Arif Hasan says “It certainly has Art Deco elements, but it is a hybrid structure. It brings together many conflicting styles of that period. For example, its dome and parapet detailing are borrowed from Lutyens' architecture in Delhi. It also has elements of modernism. Basically the era that it represents is the transition period for the art nouveau and revivalist movements to a new architecture. If you closely look at the building, you'll notice that it's constructed along the lines of high-rises that were made in Chicago and New York between the two World Wars, before modernism firmly established itself. In terms of decoration, the Regal and Naz cinemas also had the same characteristics.”

The '30s and '40s were for sure decades during which 'change' or 'transition' was afoot. And boy, did things change after that. For good or bad, it's anybody's guess.

mohammad.salman@dawn.com