It was in August last year that The Dawood Foundation (TDF) Ghar, built in 1930s, opened its door to the residents of Karachi. Located in the first dedicated cooperative residential complex in Jamshed Quarters, TDF Ghar was once home to multiple ethnicities such as Muslims, Hindus,
TBP, a Karachi based artist collective that counts conceptual performance artist Abi Tariq, video game developer Danial Hyatt, and sound sculptor Zeerak Ahmed as members, performing at TDF Ghar.
InstepREport
Following the concept of T2F in Karachi, The Dawood Foundation Ghar was transformed into a public space last year and recently introduced an exhibit called ‘The Jinnahs’ that shines a light on the women that were closest to Quaid-e-Azam.
Karachi: It was in August last year that The Dawood Foundation (TDF) Ghar, built in 1930s, opened its door to the residents of Karachi. Located in the first dedicated cooperative residential complex in Jamshed Quarters, TDF Ghar was once home to multiple ethnicities such as Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Parsis and Jews. The area developed by Jamshed Nusserwanjee in 1922, marked the beginning of the city’s urbanization.
Even though the home has been turned into a public space, it retains its heritage features and aims to provide a place where people can socialise as well as share ideas.
Earlier this week TDF Ghar launched two projects - ‘The Novel Idea’ by Junaid Akram and an exhibit titled The Jinnahs.
In a bid to know more about the initiatives, Instep spoke to Hiba Zubairi, Communications Team Leader, The Dawood Foundation.
“TDF Ghar is based on the idea of connecting our society, especially youth, with the rich vibrant history of Karachi. With ‘The Jinnahs’ we want to give an up-close look into Quaid-e-Azam’s life and also highlight the three powerful women - Fatima Jinnah, Ruttie Jinnah and Dina Jinnah - who were the closest to Quaid-e-Azam and how they influenced his life. This exhibition is a way of paying tribute to one of the most extraordinary men in history,” continued Zubairi. “We have always seen him as a figure that brought this nation into being, however, little is known about his personal life. Unfortunately, not much information is available about these three women. So, we made sure to collect authentic information from various books that were really difficult to find. This is not all. Along with this we are also screening the movie, Jinnah.”
Regarding ‘The Novel Idea’ Zubairi said, “It is a project by Junaid Akram and is Pakistan’s first book swapping library. He wanted to open a second branch so we have provided him a room at TDF Ghar. The best part is that you can read any book or swap your book with any book from the same genre at the library. There are more than 2500 books on various categories such as fiction, non-fiction, children, history and much more. The library is open for public from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.”
Coming back to the history of TDF Ghar, it tells the story of the city that went into the hands of visionaries like Charles Napier and Jamshed Nusserwanjee and blossomed into one of the biggest cities in the world.
Archive records show that TDF Ghar was owned by a Hindu woman, Mrs Haribai Motiram, which she sold in April 1948 to Hanifabai Haji Gani for her daughter Aisha Bai Dawood in June 1948, for residential purposes. The house witnessed numerous historical movements including the exit of British Empire, partition of India and the construction of Quaid-e-Azam mausoleum in the growing metropolitan.
In April 1961, the house was donated to The Dawood Foundation for philanthropic educational activities. In 1965, Mr. Ahmed Dawood established Hanifa Hajiani Vocational Training Centre, for community women with an aim to empower them. This was the era when the citizens took responsibility of developing Pakistan through education. The vocational centre used to house one batch of over 150 students who were trained in typing, cooking, sewing, painting, hand and machine embroidery and the English language.
With the passage of time, the centre witnessed a decline and in 1991, it was closed down. The house remained vacant for a couple of years and was forcefully occupied by land grabbing mafia of Lyari town. After a long drawn out court case, the Foundation was able to repossess the property and restoration work began in 2016. After extensive work with the help of Shahab Ghani Architects, TDF Ghar opened its doors once again to serve the people of Karachi.
According to Ridhwan of TDF, “Basically, ‘Ghar’ is an informal learning space which has been converted into a museum. It follows the concept of T2F in Karachi, where people can come together for intellectual interactions, reading and entertainment. ‘Ghar’ was originally constructed in the 1930s; under an almond tree with hand-crafted tiles - a rich heritage building captured and transformed for modern use without losing its ethos.”
The place has retained the heritage architectural features and the main attraction is ‘The Living Room’ museum, where antiques and collectables, such as vintage chess sets, a glass cupboard with fine china, an original silica treadle sewing machine, gramophone, radio, telephone, typewriter and lamps, from as early as 1930s, are preserved and showcased.
Another highlight is the ‘Sehan Cafe’ in the veranda of Ghar, which harnesses the Irani cafe culture that Karachi had been once famous for. Moreover, the stairs lead to three ‘Numaish Halls’ and a training room. The halls can be utilised for organising workshops, trainings, seminars, exhibitions and other activities.
TDF Ghar also offers a scenic view of Quaid-e-Azam’s mausoleum from its rooftop where one can sit, relax and enjoy the view. While entry to some portions of the building is free of cost, PKR 50 is charged per person to visit ‘The Living Room’, which remains open between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
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TBP, a Karachi based artist collective that counts conceptual performance artist Abi Tariq, video game developer Danial Hyatt, and sound sculptor Zeerak Ahmed as members, performing at TDF Ghar.
