On Karachi's famous BVS school

 Bai Virbaijee Supariwala is one of the most famous, competitive, and high-caliber schools. While going to 'peela school' in Karachi, it was one of my wishlists. Following is an interesting write-up on its foundation and founder.

SHAPURJI SOPARIVALA PARSI SUFI 1890

(In the telling of this tale I take no help from Google but write it as I heard it from his own kin).

One night I met Dinoo, his granddaughter who also served as Principal, at a party. After dinner, we sat in a quiet corner jand the topic of her grandfather came up. This is her tale as she told it:

Coming from a middle-class family, in his lifestyle, he showed no Mystic tendencies. One morning he went to work and never came back. Search availed nothing.

After a few years, they reconciled to his loss and moved on. Twelve years passed, and one morning there he was in a mendicants robe, with a long staff, at the door, seeking permission to enter.

He was robust, even vibrant, at 60. He spoke little and ate less. He never spoke of his absence. Presently he began speaking of “doing lasting good”, which when spelled out, became, “I will build a school for boys”.

One day he sought an interview with the British Viceroy, got it, went in his robe and slippers, and returned with a Grant of the land on which the school stands.

By the same token contributions came in and the foundation was dug. The rest is history, except he asked the school be named after his wife, Virbaijee. Hence the name Bai Virbaijee Sopariwala Parsi High School, or BVS Parsi High School, is open to all communities.

I have left out details given by a granddaughter as these are sacred. 

The School stands firm, sturdy, now about 125 years old. Protect it, it is your heritage.

(Homi Jehahngirji Kaikobad)

My post at Pak Tea House

Pak Tea House is a recently launched online forum to keep tradition of "chai khanas" alive virtually. They recently posted my article:

Karachi - “Basta hai iss kohar kay peechay raushanion ka shehr”

"....Its original name was Kalachi-jo-Ghote. Kalachi is said to be named after a women whom people identified as Mai Kalachi or Mai Kolachee. Kalachi-jo-Ghote was a small fishing village, made up of a cluster of fishermen huts. on the three islands of Manora, Bhit and Baba. It has also been described as having name of Kolachee, Currachee, Crochey and Kurrachee. I also found mention (but no authentic record) that Karachi was first founded when Alexander-the-Great’s admirals, sailed back home from the Greek expedition to India, stationed at a point at the mouth of the Indus, and called it Morontobara (which later became Manora). Later 3 nearby islands, Manora, Bhit and Baba became together and called Kalachi-jo-Ghote...."

Read full article here

Karachi - 1900 (Part 3)

(Click on all pictures to get enlarge view)


Clifton Road in Karachi






Clerk Street, Suddar Bazaar [Karachi].
Frere Street, Suddar Bazaar [Karachi].

Painting - Karachi (Sind) - April 1851
Watercolour of Karachi (Sind) by Henry Francis Ainslie (c.1805-1879), April 1851. 

Inscribed on the front of the mount in red ink is: 'Sindh, part of the native town of Kurrachee, 1851.'  

Originally Karachi was a small village comprising a cluster of fishermen's huts on the three islands of Manora, Bhit, and Baba. Due to its location at the western end of the Indus Delta, the town has traditionally served as an important gateway for trade into central Asia. With the development of its harbor it gradually grew into a large city and an important center of trade and industry.

Karachi 2

Lyari

At the end of the nineteenth century the Trans-Lyari Quarter of the city was made up of a cluster of poor settlements mostly consisting of reed and mud plastered huts with some more permanent dwellings. At this time one-quarter of the population of Karachi lived in this area across the Lyari River.


The Karachi Gymkhana
The British had also developed the concept of gymkhanas or sports houses, which provided facilities for all sorts of sports and games for the colonial population in the sub-continent. The Karachi Gymkhana Club, located on Scandal Point (later Club) Road, was a large Tudor-style building constructed in 1886.

Victoria Road
Photograph with a view of Karachi looking in a northerly direction along Victoria Road, with St Andrew's Church visible in the distance, taken by an unknown photographer, c.1900

Saddar Bazaar

The Saddar Bazaar at Karachi followed a typical gridiron plan; all the major north-south streets of the Bazaar were laid out at right angles to Bunder Road, Frere, Somerset, and Elphinstone Streets, which along with Victoria Road, linked the northern part of the cantonment to the southern part. The area soon developed into the most fashionable part of the city, supplying the needs of both its civilian and military parts

Karachi 1

Napier Mole bridge


Photograph was taken by an unknown photographer in Karachi, c.1900, with a general view along the iron Napier Mole bridge connecting Karachi with Kiamari


Empress Market in Karachi

Photograph of Empress Market in Karachi, taken by an unknown photographer, c.1900. The Empress Market was constructed between 1884 and 1889 and was named to commemorate Queen Victoria, Empress of India. It was designed by James Strachan, the foundations were completed by the English firm of A.J. Attfield, and the building was constructed by the local firm of 'Mahoomed Niwan and Dulloo Khejoo.' The building was arranged around a courtyard, 130 ft by 100 ft, with four galleries, each 46 ft wide. The galleries accommodated 280 shops and stall keepers; at its construction, it was one of seven markets in Karachi.

D.J. Sind Arts College

Photograph of the D.J. Sind Arts College (now known as the D. J. Government Science College) of Karachi, taken by an unknown photographer, c.1900, from an album of 46 prints titled 'Karachi Views'. Designed by James Strachan and considered this architect's greatest achievement, the college was built between 1887 and 1893. Named after the Sindhi philanthropist Dayaram Jethmal, whose two family members contributed towards its cost, the building was constructed in the neoclassical, or ‘Italian architectural style’. A considerable amount of money was spent on the college's interior; the floors comprised mosaic tiles imported from Belgium, and the eight-foot-wide main staircase was fitted with ornamental cast-iron work from McFarlane & Company of Glasgow. Karachi, once the capital of Pakistan, is now the capital of Sindh province and the major port and main commercial center of the country. It was a strategically located small port at a protected natural harbor on the Arabian Sea north-west of the mouth of the Indus and was developed and expanded by the British when they took over Sindh in the mid-19th century to serve the booming trade from Punjab and the wheat and cotton regions of the sub-continent.

Street scene in Karachi

Photograph of a busy street scene in Karachi (year unknown - probably 1900)