|
HISTORY OF KARACHI
The area of Karachi has been
known to the ancient Greeks by many names: Krokola, the place where Alexander
the Great camped to prepare a fleet for Babylonia after his campaign in the
Indus valley; 'Morontobara' port (probably the modern Manora Island near the
Karachi harbor), from where Alexander's admiral Nearchus sailed for back home;
and Barbarikon, a sea port of the Indo-Greek Bactrian kingdom. It was also
known as the port of Debal to the Arabs, from where Muhammad bin Qasim
led his conquering force into South Asia in
712 AD. According to the British historian Eliot, parts of city of Karachi and the island of Manora constituted the city of Debal.
The present city started its
life as a fishing settlement where a Sindhi fisherwoman by the name of Mai
Kolachi took up residence and started a family. The village that later grew
out of this settlement was known as Kolachi-jo-Goth (The Village of Kolachi
in Sindhi). By the late 1700s this village started trading across the sea
with Muscat and the Persian Gulf region which led to its
gaining importance. A small fort was constructed for its protection, armed
with cannons imported from Muscat.
The fort had two main gateways: one facing the sea, known as Khara Darwaaza
(Brackish Gate) and the other facing the adjoining Lyari river known as the
Meetha Darwaaza (Sweet Gate). The location of these gates corresponds to the
present-day city localities of Khaaradar and Meethadar respectively.
An old image of MA
Jinnah Road Karachi
from 1889
 In
1795, the village became a domain of the Balochi Talpur rulers of Sindh. A
small factory was opened by the British in September 1799, but was closed
down within a year. After sending a couple of exploratory missions to the
area, the British East India Company conquered the town on February 3, 1839.
The village was later annexed to the British Indian Empire when the province
of Sindh was conquered by Charles
Napier in 1843. Kolachi was added along with the rest of Sindh to the
jurisdiction of the Bombay Presidency.
The British realized its importance as a military
cantonment and a port for exporting the produce of the Indus
basin, and rapidly developed its harbour for shipping. The foundations of a
city municipal government were laid down and infrastructure development was
undertaken. New businesses started opening up and the population of the town
started rising rapidly. Karachi
quickly turned into a city, making true the famous quote by Napier who is
known to have said: Would that I could come again to see you in your
grandeur!
In 1857, the First Indian War for Independence broke out in the subcontinent and the 21st
Native Infantry stationed in Karachi
declared allegiance to revolters, joining their cause on September 10, 1857.
However, the British were rapidly able to reassert their control over Karachi
and defeat the uprising. Karachi
was known as Khurachee Scinde (i.e. Karachi,
Sindh) during the early British colonial rule.
In 1864, the first
telegraphic message was sent from India to England when a direct
telegraph connection was laid down between Karachi and London.
In 1878, the city was connected to the rest of British India by railway line. Public
building projects such as the Frere Hall (1865) and the Empress Market (1890)
were undertaken. In 1876, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan,
was born in the city, which by now had become a bustling city with railway,
churches, mosques, courthouses, markets, paved streets and a magnificent
harbour. By 1899 Karachi had become
the largest wheat exporting port in the east (Feldman 1970:57). The
population of the city had also risen to about 105,000 inhabitants by the end
of the 19th century and was a cosmopolitan mix of Hindus and Muslims,
European traders, Jews, Parsis, Iranians, Lebanese, and Goan merchants. By
the turn of the century, the city faced street congestion, which led to India’s
first tramway system being laid down in 1900.
Frere Hall - a prime example of colonial architecture built during
the British Raj
By 1914, Karachi had become the largest grain
exporting port of the British
Empire. In 1924, an aerodrome was built and Karachi became the main airport of entry into
India.
An airship mast was also built in Karachi
in 1927 as part of the Imperial Airship Communications scheme, which was
later abandoned. In 1936, Sindh was separated from the Bombay Presidency and Karachi
was made the capital of the new province. By the time the new country of Pakistan was formed in 1947, Karachi
had become a bustling metropolitan city with beautiful classical and colonial
European styled buildings lining the city’s thoroughfares. Karachi was chosen as the capital city of Pakistan
and accommodated a huge influx of migrants and refugees to the newly formed
country. The demographics of the city also changed drastically. However, it
still maintained a great cultural diversity as its new inhabitants arrived
from all parts of the subcontinent.
 The
Southend Club
 Residential Facility
There are eleven (11) fully
furnished, air-conditioned and well-equipped suites and sixteen (16) rooms
with a common lounge.
A fully equipped conference
room, lobby and business room make the facilities comparable with those
present at any five-star hotel.
Sport Facility
|
|
|
|
The Club offers three (3) air-conditioned squash courts for singles,
which can be converted into two doubles courts through moveable walls.
Introduced for the first time in Pakistan, the doubles squash
will make the game popular among teens and even the middle-aged.
Other important features of these courts are the sensitive tin that
registers a low ball by sound and display, electronic scoreboards that
can be operated by the players from within the court and a Half Wall
System, which makes the ball rebound perfectly.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
There is an Olympic standard covered swimming pool in a spacious
15,000 sq. ft. hall. It is a seven lane, 5,000 sq. ft. pool with
extensions reserved for divers, where diving boards of 1 meter & 3
meters have been installed. Electronic touch boards, underwater lights,
perfect heating arrangements, latest filtration plant with automatic
vacuum cleaners and surge tanks are the allied modern facilities at the
pool. Aqua fitness gadgetry, under our qualified staff, is also
available.
The pool has an easy
entrance and exit points, easy to use by the handicapped as well. A
wading pool for toddlers is also part of the facilities. The spacious
hall can also be used for refreshments and poolside parties.
|
|
|
|
|
The three Tennis Courts located on the roof are another unique feature of
the Club. In shadow- less, well-lit environment, playing tennis is real
fun under the cool and gentle sea breeze. A bar can be used to serve
refreshments after an exhausting tennis session.
A spacious (61x115 ft.) multipurpose hall is also part of the
modern facilities offered by the Club. The hall is available 24 hours for
indoor games like badminton, volleyball, basketball, handball, table
tennis and even football. A spectator's gallery can accommodate
approximately 80 people and it can also be used by the players for taking
refreshments or rest between or after the games.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In this spacious 10,600 sq. ft. hall, 10 lanes have been installed
along with AMF Bowling equipment. Well-known in the bowling world, AMF
are the inventors of automatic pin spotters, which deliver a consistent
and short cycle time for a faster game.
The bowling lanes have been made with the highest quality maple wood,
which is cleaned and maintained regularly with automatic lane equipment.
Overhead monitors at the front, along with computerized management
system, provide instant animated scoring before the comfortable seated
players. The ball grip can also be modified as per your hand size. An
elegant bar caters to the refreshment needs of the members.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Southend Club are proud to introduce, for the first time ever in Pakistan,
their ice skating rink. In a 5,000 sq. ft. spacious hall, on a thick ice
slate; members can enjoy figure dancing, pleasure skating and other ice
games. In a city where the sun scorches down for most part of the year,
can there be more fun than enjoying fun-filled ice-skating in a shivering
cold hall? The Spectator's gallery allows the bystanders the chance to
enjoy skater's performance.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Indoor golf facilities are available for our valued members in a
spacious air-conditioned hall. It comprises of a miniature golf course
designed by a foreign company. If the golf simulator is occupied, you may
practice different shots and even play the game.
A golf simulator is a unique virtual
reality machine where you can play simulated golf in a wall-size image of
any of the world’s famous golf course of choice. When the player
hits a real ball with the club of his choice, the computerized tracking system
senses the ball’s exact path, speed and spin, and generates a
synthetic ball on the screen, which follows the same trajectory as a real
ball would have followed in the air. When the ball comes to rest, the
screen is redrawn.
Another related feature is the swing
analyzer, which can assist you in improving your swing.
This indoor golf facility is a blessing for
the middle-aged golf enthusiasts who can not spare day hours to enjoy the
sports and also for those who have the time but are not able to brave the
scorching sun.
|
|
|
No club today can claim to be complete without a jogging track.
Southend Club has also fulfilled this essential requirement of modern day
life with a 500m track for members only.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mr
Tariq Rasheed Khan
Director,
Mind
Sport Association of Pakistan
|
|
+92-300-8231459
|
|
|
|
|
|
+92-21-5888369
|
|
|
|
|
|
msap@msap.com.pk
|
|
|
|
