Old Karachi

[ghazi52]

 

[ghazi52]

 

[ghazi52]

1960's
Hospital, Bandar road.

 

[Goenitz]

​

نایاب تاریخی تصویر 17 جون 1942ء کے اخبار "ہندو سنسار" کی ہے، جو کراچی سے شائع ہوتا تھا۔ اس اخبار کے مدیر رِجھومل بی۔ آگنانی تھے، جبکہ اس کی قیمت اُس زمانے میں صرف ایک آنہ تھی۔
اس تاریخی اشاعت میں شائع ہونے والا زیادہ تر مواد دوسری جنگِ عظیم کے واقعات اور پیش رفت کے گرد گھومتا ہے، جو اُس دور کے عالمی حالات اور عوامی خدشات کی عکاسی کرتا ہے۔
آج یہ اخبار 1940ء کی دہائی کے سماجی، سیاسی اور جنگی حالات کو سمجھنے کے لیے ایک قیمتی تاریخی دستاویز اور آرکائیوی جھلک کی حیثیت رکھتا ہے۔​

 

[ghazi52]

Between DHA and Korangi.
Korangi 1968.

 

[ghazi52]

1955

 

[ghazi52]

 

[ghazi52]

 

[ghazi52]

 

[ghazi52]

 

[ghazi52]

A forgotten landmark of elegance, enterprise, and cosmopolitan Karachi.

In the early 1940s, a well-known physician of Karachi, Dr. Naraindas Mirchandani, decided to leave the city and settle in Bombay. Before departing, he entrusted the keys of his house to his close friend Gurdasmal Advani, asking him to find a buyer.
Although Advani succeeded in selling the property, his entrepreneurial instincts soon took over. Having earlier worked as a hotelier on lease in Kashmir—an enterprise lost due to Partition—he saw an opportunity. He rented Dr. Mirchandani’s house and converted it into a hotel.
Thus, in 1942, Taj Hotel came into being.
Built on 2,200 square yards on Kutchery (Club) Road, directly opposite the Karachi Club, the hotel gradually expanded from a modest structure into a prominent landmark of central Karachi.

Behind this success stood Rukmani Advani, his wife, who played a vital role in managing the hotel’s daily operations with discipline, dedication, and tireless effort.

The hotel’s manager, Mr. Rahman, was deeply respected and supported by Advani; together they built what became one of Karachi’s finest hotels.

Through perseverance and hard work, Advani rose to a level of prosperity that enabled him to educate his three sons—Sunder Advani, Venu Advani, and Haresh Advani—at St. Patrick’s School and later at leading universities in the United States.

The story came to an end in 1977, when prohibition laws and changing political realities brought Karachi’s vibrant nightlife and entertainment culture to a halt.
By 1981, Taj Hotel had vanished completely, leaving behind memories of an era when Karachi was confident, cultured, and truly cosmopolitan.

Source:
Dawn News

 

[ghazi52]

 

[ghazi52]

Empress Markey Saddar

 

[ghazi52]

Sindh Club during 1960's​

 

[ghazi52]

1960's