Bohri Bazaar saga

KARACHI: Memories of shopping with my mother at the Bohri Bazaar for a variety of items including my school uniform and above all a brief stopover at Nimko for pakora are as vivid as if they had happened only yesterday.

There was a time, way back in the 1960s, when for teenagers it was indeed a preferred place for shopping. Located at the heart of the city, the bazaar was established in 1939 for serving the British military camps. As such most of the shops here are around 100 years old. Though sadly, over the years this place began to lose its charm due to the gradual development of various alternatives such as the modern shopping areas in the city. In fact, it was not only a place for selling and buying purposes, but a meeting point for foodies as well.

Despite being frequent visitors to Bohri Bazaar, many don’t know all about this old market. The Bohras say they are commonly known as ‘Bohri’ here, which is a distortion of the community’s actual name: Bohra. They don’t call the bazaar Bohri Bazaar, instead they call it Bohra Bazaar.

The word Bohra means traders as the community has been associated with various trades. The market was named after the Bohra community and the famous bazaar boasts of having something for everyone, especially for women as they can find everything from jewellery, clothes, shoes, kitchenware, blankets, and various food items.

Except for the Bohra community very few know about a market within the Bohri Bazaar which is known as Najmi Market. There are some 100 shops in this particular market and almost at every shop one would find a photograph of Dr Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin — the late spiritual leader of the Bohra community. The prices of all the items available at these shops are reasonable as a shopkeeper at the bazaar explained “We wouldn’t steal or cheat our own people”.

At the centre of the bazaar there is Tahiri Masjid, a unique Bohra community mosque. The building is based on Egyptian architecture which is very rare in this part of the world.

Dar-e-Meher

Another landmark of Bohri Bazaar is of course the H.J. Behrana Parsi Dar-e-Meher or fire temple. It is said that once Karachi had Pakistan’s largest community of Zoroastrians or Parsis who have contributed immensely to the city’s development over the years. With the exodus of Parsis the once-vibrant community has shrunk considerably. However, the fire temple is still there and is maintained by the Parsis. The building by all means is a heritage site. Visitors to Bohri Bazaar can never miss it.

While window shopping in the lanes and by-lanes of the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, I thought of our very own Bohri Bazaar, which was once the most frequently visited market of my family. Though very congested it was not only famous but probably the only mega shopping place of that time in Karachi. I wish our city administrators had a vision and prepared a plan to renovate it keeping in view the changing dynamics of the city. It could certainly have been our answer to Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar. Frankly speaking it still has the potential to attract foreign tourists. All that is required is a will to do it.

It may be mentioned here that the bazaar also witnessed two horrific disasters, one in 1958 when a huge fire broke out in a fireworks shop and buildings, mainly made of wood were burnt beyond recognition. The second incident took place in the 1980s when two bomb blast claimed dozens of innocent lives in the bazaar.

The Bohra community played an important role in reconstructing the market. In fact, that was the time when the bazaar could have been rebuilt. A few architects also offered their services but then for reasons best known to the civic authorities it fell on deaf ears.

It is unfortunate that tourists even from other cities of the country never visit Bohri Bazaar; only those who live in Saddar come here for shopping. This place can certainly be developed into a grand shopping centre with a lot of potential to attract foreign tourists, for they have a special longing for visiting ancient places with cultural heritage. A lot of such old bazaars in various parts of the world are still famous for tourists.

Not that our city planners and architects never thought of converting this haphazard and unplanned shopping area into a real cultural heritage with a neatly planned and well-organised shopping city. In fact, over five decades ago, Hussain D’Silva Construction Company floated a massive plan for the renovation and redevelopment of Bohri Bazaar, the then landmark of Karachi. But unfortunately, the plan remained pinned to the drawing boards and despite frantic efforts from the company it failed to get a green signal from the then city bosses.

An architect once very rightly said “Heritage sites are arguably the physical component of a city’s identity. The lived-in architecture, the strategic locations and the uses of these buildings reveal unique stories telling of how our city came to be and can offer predictions of where it might be going.

These features add character and beauty to our city, fostering a sense of home and community, and serving as a reminder to each of us that our city’s history belongs to all of us. Just as these magnificent buildings have been passed down to us, we must preserve them for future generations”.