There was a time when citizens of Karachi were accustomed to seeing Trams running all over the City center. It was one of the most popular means of conveyance in the city. Today, only a handful of photos, a few landmarks and memories of Trams remain. Our elders will remember the following scenes from the city which was their abode before migrating to Mumbai.
In the following picture, notice Takandas H Kataria's advertisement on the tram:
The history of Karachi tramway spans 90 years (1885-1975). It owes it origin to the Municipal Secretary and Engineer, James Strachan who first conceived the idea for a Karachi Tramway. In 1881, Mr. Edward Mathews of London submitted the tender for building this tramway network. It took until 1883 to complete all the formalities and to get Government permission to use Steam as the locomotive power for the trams. Actual construction work started in October 1884. Track Gauge of Karachi Tramway was 4 feet.
On April 10, 1885 the first tram line in Karachi was opened for public traffic. The track extended from the present day Jinnah (then Napier Mole) bridge to Keamari.
The following picture shows a tram on Saddar route:
The Map below shows Karachi of 1893. The Red rectangle towards left shows the first tramway track that was inaugurated. Also note how Karachi landscape has changed since then. Keamari is now part of the mainland as sea has receded a lot as well as land reclamation that has happened in the last 100 years.
The following picture is circa 1900 and it shows a tram near Max Denso Hall on then Bandar (now M.A.Jinnah) Road:
Following photo is circa 1900 and shows a glimpse of Karachi trams near Max Denso Hall:
The following photo shows a tram on Bandar Road (now M.A.Jinnah Road) in 1933:
Following photo shows Saddar area circa 1950s. Towards left, one can see atleast two trams. The signboard towards top right corner of the photo reads Nishat Hotel:
Thanks for recalling memories from Karachi. We would welcome many more such memories from our elders.
ReplyDeleteReally fascinating information - I would suggest Bhagnari Panchayat delegates to approach elders and extract similar news on past history of our community
ReplyDeleteVishnu Sadani
The article is truly amazing :-)
ReplyDeletegood job mr. gobind kataria. some pictures of
ReplyDeletebhagnaris of those times would be interesting.
also some information of the lifestyle lived
by bhagnaris.
would also agree with suggestions made by vishnu
and vaarun.
rajan t mehta
Excellent job Gobind.
ReplyDeleteThe pictures are very informative
GULAB KANAR
Fascinating article and pictures Mr Kataria, and thanks for bringing history to life! I agree with all the posts that it would be wonderful if we could document our past by asking our elders to contribute. Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteBina Batlivala
In response to several requests for more information about the way Bhagnaris lived in Karachi, Gobind Kataria has provided the following interesting write-up:
ReplyDelete"Dear Ramesh,
You has asked me to dig deeper into the memories, the past. Nostalgia takes over and one forgets the hard boils of life, the sores and pains of times gone, for which I may be forgiven. I write this partly to jog the memories of old friends and also to help the younger generation of our glorious days.
Bhagnari Pada was a warren of narrow streets, and if I recall it right, about five to six streets in all. Our meeting point were two tea shops: one owned by Dewan(?) and the other by Tikamdas. (apologies if names are not rightly spelled). One street would take you through the market (shops owned by Vishindas) and then to the flower market, and straight through to the Devi Temple. Ironically, before you reach the Temple you have to pass the brothel, a sight our mothers and sisters detested, and beyond the comprehension of young children. Couple of miles away stood my school, Model High School, where I matriculated in 1947, the year of the Partition.
Before that, when the second world war was threatening to reach our shores drunken American soldiers would run through our streets on their way to the brothels, and our doors would be shut thorughly. Close to the temple, a cinema would show you old Nadia films for less than a penny and John Kawas would entertain you for hours.
We were surrounded by Muslims but tensions were hardly visible until late forties. Our Baluchi hot blood was evident. One day when one of our Bhagnaris, if I do remember him right, Vishu, a tall broad-shouldered young man fought through the gang of ten knife-wielding rogues and came bleeding into our Pada, and the men stood together to protect him.
My personal history: Our grandfather, a wealthy businessman, owned Sheesh Mahal, a large haveli, but we were bankrupted and sank into dire circumstances. My father never recovered from the shock. Thanks to our uncle, Parsram Nasta who helped us through the tough times until I grew up. I ended up as a poorly paid Professor in K.C. College and migrated to the United Kingdom in 1966 and now retired as an Education Adviser.
They say a blogger can hold your attention for only a few minutes. Before I end, I must make a note of the man who paid a heavy sacrifice for the freedom of India but whose name is rarely mentioned. He was Mr. Tahilram Kanar, father of my friend Niranjan Kanar. The year was 1942, Quit India movement initiated by Gandhi had filled all young men with super abundant energy. Tahildram was our leader, and my job was to print bulletins, which was seditious and forbidden by the British with pain of prison sentence. Tahilram would organise marches, inspire us to go out to distribute these roughly printed newspapers and lead us to the Boulton Market where we faced the Police. The policemen would just take the men into their vans and push the kids away. To add to this, he was a prolific writer and a great dramatist and visionary, if you happened to have seen his plays.
Not forgetting one of the great leaders of our society, Mukhi Takandas, who had his haveli close to ours, and he was the first Bhagnari to visit the United States. On his return, he gave us a talk on the western ways of life, and how a barber charged him three dollars (a huge sum those days) for a haircut.
We have produced great men and continue to do so. There is something in our Bhagnari blood that pushes us forward to unknown territories.
My eyes have seen the kingdoms come and go, cultures turned upside down, religions and gods abandoned as I see it in London. I loved Bombay and still do, but when I come to see the overcrowding, the misery of the shanty towns, poverty and stampeding on our local trains, I am filled with horror, anger and pain. Wealth may mean nothing if one's quality of life is undermined.
I have lost all photos, but the words may fill some of the gaps.
Gobind Kataria"
brilliant uncle , i can only feel what people of your generation have beeen thru, & its truly wonderful to note that come what may you guys have never given up , it gives us great courage to face ant situation head on when we think of what our parents have gone thru , cheers sir keep inspiring us
ReplyDeleteDear Gobind Mama,
ReplyDeleteAmazing write up and indeed informative. Its so good to know of our heritage, afterall our present and future owe it all to our past..!
Many more such will be welcomed, atleast we can discuss it over with our children and make them aware of the community to which they are a part of.
Also the pictures that you have added helps a lot to visualize the life style of those days.
Take care of yourself and expect many more from you.
Love, Misha (ani's wife)
Well done. I enjoy listening to my moms narratives and thoroughly enjoyed reading ur article.Thanks for sharing and taking us down memory lane.
ReplyDeleteAanchal Alreja.
very nice article and very inspirational. Shows us (shows me at least) how easy we have it these days.
ReplyDeleteSweet memories
ReplyDeleteWHAT A PAGE..AMZAING...SUPERB,I AM FROM ISLAMABAD BUT I WAS LEAVE KARACHI IN 1989.I AM 30 YRS OLD GUY,I AM A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER BUT I LOVE MY KARACHI(OLD KARACHI WHO I WAS LEAVE IN 1989)NOW KARACHI IS CHANGED,FASHION KA NAAM PER JO KUCH FEMALES WAHAN WEAR KAR RAHEEN HAEEN WOH DEKH KAR DIL KHUN KA ANSOO ROTA HAEE,
ReplyDeleteNIGHT CLUB
DANCE PARTIES
SHESHA
DRUGS
KHULAM KHULA BEER DRINK
SEX PARTIES
OH MY GOD,I THINK WE FORGET OUR DEATH.HUM SUB NAEE 6FT KI KABAR MA JANA HAEE
AP LOG IN PIC KO DEKH KAR SOCHAEEN KA YEH LOG KITNAE MASOOM THAE
KOI BEHODGEE NAHI THE
KOI FROD NAHI THA
LADIES PARDA KARTEE THEN
LOGOON KI NIGHAON MA HIA THE
SHARAM THE
AHHHH
PLS PRAY FOR OUR KARACHI
Well Mr. Anonymous
ReplyDeletejesa apne likha wesa karachi main esa kuch bhi nahi ho raha....
jo wearing karachi main hoti hai wohi lahore or islamabad main bhi hoti hai. yahan sherm hia still mojood hai. bt apki baton se lagta hai jese app europe ki baat ker rahay hain Mr...!!
baki galat log tu sub jaga hote hain chahe wo karachi ho ya lahore ya islamabad.
Thank you Ramesh For this informational article!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this beautiful article. My parents and grandparents came from Karachi. My interest in tracing my origins and thus leaving some information of my roots for posterity is of uttermost importance. Looking for other posts just like yours to complete my booklet of my roots...Thanks
ReplyDelete