Karachi and memories-
My significant five memories of this city are:
-Funland. It was where all the kids went. There was the fear of dying, while being on a ride. But I remember pirate’s ship and ferris wheel all too well. As an adult too, there were Lyceum melas held there but alas Funland is no more.
-The candy man. He would sell candies with colourful stripes , and would make you birds and toys, all ofcourse with the soft goey candy strips he had.
– The hand drawn ferris wheel. I know it exists in some remote parts of Karachi but that’s not the same. With all the kids jumping up and down, waiting for their rides it was a treat on cool summer evenings.
– Friday holidy. With all the crazy anticipation for Fridays. Though I like the current system much better.
– Lesser cars. Now every nook is full of cars. We have countless banks to thank that for. Not that it meant improved driving skills. Just that there was more breathing space.
Do these memories make a city, or will Karachi evolve on its own. Creating a new identity each time?
You’re an ex-Lyceumite?
long time back umar made a similar post and that was one of very few intresting post of kMB. you may go thru archives of year 2006.
why did they demolish the funland?. and news is that lyceum does not have sponsers now for a mela. i guess having it at the funland was real cheap
oh yaar i remember the lyceum mela…and the pirate ship…it made me sick..but nevertheless was fun….
I remember when their was a time when children use to play with lattu, goliyan, langri-pala, pittu-bari and maaram-peeti, I guess no one plays these kinds of games now, gone are the days when kids use to enjoy too much with these games.
I know the kids now prefer to play monopoly, scramble and computer games as game&watch is almost gone now and not too many kids have playstation and xbox, so I dont know what the kids are doing now (outdoor activities) to have fun ?
I hope the govt. will concentrate on having playgrounds for the kids to have fun playing outdoor games like cricket and football and baseball.
Fiasal-No I’m not from Lyceum.
Adnan-I know:)
Rukun:(
Ahzen-memories
Khitorpit- I remember too, baraf paani and bhanda wala game too.
@HENNA
“Baraf Paaani” ??….GOD its one of the best games eva along with Langri-para. I just loved it. I wish if these games could be revived. I wish if there could be any official way out. The current computer games are no match to them when you consider fun part. By the way HENA, what is bhanda wala game ?
@KhiTorPitt
“attu, goliyan, langri-pala, pittu-bari and maaram-peeti ”
Jeeta reh meray sher……… made me remember ma old days….
lattu **
Karachi has become a whole lot more dynamic than the idle ol’ city it used to be. I guess that is how a big city should be. In the future, I think Karachi will be chalking out newer identities for itself as further globalisation takes root.
Btw, I dunno what has happened to funland now… didnt seem like it was there anymore the last time I went by the area.
lol!
@HENA: Bhanda wala game is Chupan Chupaee!
haha
thanks for MB for reminding us of those golden old games! Chupan Chupaee, Baraf Paani, Kho Kho, Langri Paala, Pithu Garam, etc… timeless classics! no kid should grow up without having played them!
“cool summer evenings”?! — pray tell when karachi summers were cool — my memories of karachi summers are burning hot, humid, stifling, suffocating heat that enveloped you completely, so as to feel you were in a dank oven. the ‘breezes’ if any were hot ‘loo’ winds — utter miserable hell.
Thanks swa- it was, and I choose to remember early summer wnights that were considerably cooler. They were!
yep. what we now call sunday afternoon traffic on SF was my aily afternoon traffic on SF.
i used to reach from Kashmir Road to Two Swords in thirteen minutes.
dont forget oonch neeeech! now that’s one cool game… :)
i loved baraf paani and pittu garam!
as for reviving old games… the only way to do that is the ensure our younger cousins / children (for those of you in that age) get to play them :p
I still see children (whose parents are involved) playing these games in the evenings back where i used to live.
Its upto us guys!
henna: lovely post!
MB to bachpan me apna mohallay k shaeelion k saath KHOO-KHOO kehlta thaa :-)
Saib Saib (Apple Apple), nahi khelta tha koi?
Countless hours of cycling in the Aziz Bhatti Park.
Skating..
Badminton..
Bhuttay-wala..
Babu Ka bun-kebab
Gola Ganda
Kulfi
Lassi
Doodh Botal
School khulnay ki excitement
Naya course, naya uniform, naya schoobag..
getting all of my textbooks plastic coated.
the smell of the new course lol..
latttooo- specially handcrafted from Korangi 4 No.
To make so many plans just before the exams and actually doing none of them in the summer..
spending nights at nani-jees place
playing street fighter at the local arcade, enjoying the local hero status..
Candyland jelly (bottles)
empty roads
sharafat
masoomiat
saadgi
achi zindagi thi, najanay kiya ho gaya hai ab :(
I have fond memories of Karachi….the place where I spent most of life. Days before people’s values changed…before the mad rush. Days when your entire neighborhood was your home. You could practically walk into any friend’s house as though it was your very own. Where your friend’s elders were your elders. Days when you would be playing outside any any of the many elders in the mohallah would be beckon you run an errand for them (and you would happily do it). Its a long list of things that I miss. For example:
– Ghubare wala (Balloon vendor) with his array of plastic toys (specially the Jinn mask) blowing his plastic trumpet to attact kids
– Amrood (Guava)wala
– Qulfi and Gola Ganda wala with his customary Bell tied under the thela.
– Not every kid was lucky enough to own a bicycle….for the rest of us, were the rented cycles from the cycle shop. In my case, it was the one located in AlFalah Masjid Market in PECHS
– Walking all the way to Jheel Park with a Rs.5 note in our pockets and having a bowl of Chicken Corn soup at Mujeeb’s…and then with the remaining Rs. 2, we would go to the Video Arcade right next to Mujeeb’s to play Asteriods.
– Ganne Ka (Sugarcane) Juice
– Taking the Tonga from Gurru Mandir to Society Office
– Plucking Badaam and Kairi from trees in the neighborhood
– Bundoo Khan
– Barely any pollution
– Topsy ki Icecream or Falooda (this was by the Musical Fountain if anyone recalls)
I am sure there is a lot more to add….I shall leave that for some other time
Razi,
Ganna, qulfi, gola, badaam, bundoo khan, karaye ki cycle, amrood .. I share all that with you :)
Reading this thread brings back good memories. But it wasn’t all sharafat, masoomiat and saadgi as sufi imagines. It wasn’t much better than it is now. Just that you were young and innocent. Your parents sheltered you from the harsh realities of life. You should thank them for the beautiful memories.
@Kidal….> Agreed :)
Dee