The red and yellow buildings of Old Karachi have a unique beauty that even today reminds visitors of the bygone days. Those days are gone, but their stories are still alive on the pages of these buildings.
Be it the Khaliq Dina Hall or the majestic building of the Hindu Gymnasium, the markets in the Old Town, or a community center like the Denso Hall. Jahangir Kothari Parade is not only a symbol of Clifton but also of Karachi. Whenever you look at these buildings, you cannot go without praising their architects.
Have you ever thought that the hands of those who carved stone and tiling on these buildings were such a skill that carved the hardest stone and made it a masterpiece? These talented people are ancient residents of Ghazdarabad area of Karachi. These people who work on stone are called ‘Salawat’. Along with carving the building stone, their specialty is also the work of sil batte. Hashim Gazder, Mushtaq Gazder, artist Liaqat Soldier and Hoti family are prominent names of this community.
Long story short, the century-and-a-half-old architectural style has reached its end. Therefore, the story of these talented people is also about to disappear. 80-year-old Rafiq Chauhan narrates the story of this dying skill. He was born in Karachi in 1942, and inherited this talent from his father.
Rafiq explains that ‘we belong to the Indian city of Jaisalmer. Seeing our work, Mir called in Sindh. And we settled in Karachi and Hyderabad two centuries ago. Our entire community is a stonemason. Be it the stone of Jodhpur or Jaisalmer, or here in Karachi, we use our chisels to hit the hardest stone in such a way that there are wrinkles or flowers, the onlookers are left watching. The municipal building of Karachi is built by the hands of our forefathers. The Jodhpur stone used in it is the hardest.’
It is a laborious task that requires the skill of a surgeon and the strength of a blacksmith (Sheema Siddiqui).
He says that ‘work is started on this stone as soon as it comes out of the mine because after ten or twenty years it becomes very difficult to work on it. That is, as time goes by, it gets tougher and tougher.’
Rafiq said that he studied up to 7th and 8th standard, then joined his father. Father died soon so he learned regular work from Khalo.
‘Our centuries-old skill is about to disappear. It seems that this recognition of ours will not be able to be transferred to the next generation, because there is no one to learn this skill. There are only a few enthusiasts left who are aware of its importance.’
“If these old buildings still need repair and maintenance, we are called,” says Rafiq. Bilawal Bhutto called us to repair the temple of Sadhu Bela in Sukkur. We also came to see the temple but perhaps they did not feel the need and therefore this work was not done.’
Rafiq Umar explains that two types of stone are used in the old buildings of Karachi. Most of the buildings are made of local yellow stone such as passi stone. It is used in stone PT Building, Mehta Palace and Quaid-e-Azam House or State Guest House. Second, the red stone of Jodhpur, like the building of Baldia Uzma Karachi. Look at the beauty of the Karachi Municipal Building, it is carved from the red stone of Jodhpur by the Salavat community.’
Time has changed and architecture has also changed
Because there is a new age and a new style of architecture, box-shaped houses in minimal space are giving a new look to the city of Karachi. The work of the Salvat community has also been affected by the change in architecture, but now the work of Salbute has also become non-existent. Because grinding chutneys and spices on sil batte is also becoming less and less with time, so there is no need to run a chisel on sils anymore.
Among the buildings of Karachi, Friar Hall is an example (Sheema Siddiqui).
Our generation had seen salbata in their homes, but the new generation will only be able to see the images of Havan Daste and salbata, which means that now the Salavat community will further retreat from its ancestral work.
Rafiq Chauhan runs a shop in Karachi’s old Ranchhor Line, but now his son handles most of the work.
Rafiq changed the side and said that ‘in the previous generation it was a hobby, now the youth do not learn this work. It takes a lot of time to learn so the new generation shy away from it. It is not a mechanical work, but it is a laborious work, you have to put your mind. This work requires understanding of everything. Then somewhere, the chisel falls on the stone in such a way that the harder and harder stone takes its shape and finally a masterpiece is in front of you. Constant hard work and consistency make this work your hallmark. Because now it’s easy to understand, fast-paced construction gives them enough time to get a month’s worth of work done in a week. The work of the hands is now transferred to the missionaries.’
Rafiq displayed the various stone carving designs he had in his shop. In which the yellow stone was kept less and marble slips and lattices of different colors were kept. Rafiq says that ‘now most of the white stone of Peshawar and the black stone of Hub are being used in the construction of buildings and the hard work and craftsmanship is not involved in the cutting of marble. Just machine cut and pasted while carving on yellow stone, not machine like. It is the work of labor, artistry, mind and hands. It is not easy to make flower petals, cut house pillars and cut and carve large stones. This is not done in a hurry. People are also in a hurry. And artisans also live by hard work. Understand that now our work is over. As long as there are old buildings. Some work is in progress. If these buildings disappear, our culture will also disappear.’
His own attempt to transfer this skill to the new generation
Rafiq says that seven to eight generations have been in this work. Now he has no future. Now he is neither a stone nor a craftsman, nor a learner. Even our children are no longer interested in this work. Now only one son is in this work. Now we have come to other jobs due to not getting work ourselves.’
Rafiq Chauhan’s son Faheem Salawat told The Independent that he used to come to Abba after school. Sometimes the heart would be in the work and sometimes they would run away. Abba put a chisel in his hand. Gradually the work started to become fun. Very little work was done on the yellow stone and that too was cut by machine. While more work is being done on marble and tiles. Abba says that earlier there was a lot of work, artisans used to be less.
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“The nature of our work will change,” he says. Nowadays, marble columns are being built. Arches and seats are made for sitting. Work is going on in the mosques. Like arches and pulpits etc. Even in preliminary work, like drafts and designs etc., the machine has come, because the writing is done by machine and also by hand, but where there is beauty in the work, hand work will be done. Especially fine work has to be written by hand.’
Showing a strip of marble, he said that ‘on the one hand marble is worked by machine, but the flowers that are made are also made by hand, and also by machine, but we have done fine work here by hand. is Beauty comes from handwork. This Tughra of Ayat al-Kursi has been prepared in three days.’
He explained that ‘our work begins with drawing. Therefore, any design is taken down on paper and a stencil is prepared, and if a verse is to be carved on a stone, calligraphy is done first and this is the basis of this work. After that they carve stones with different chisels.’
Faheem said that he learns Arabic, Urdu, Sindhi and Gujarati calligraphy. He emphasizes that all the ancient buildings in Karachi are made of local stone. It is a stone of this earth and this is its beauty.
He says, ‘It is the government’s job to protect all the old buildings and maintain this historical heritage, so that the heritage of Sindh and Karachi remains safe. If it ends, Sindh’s heritage will be lost. Now there is no one to learn and no work left. Marble is marble everywhere.
We request the government to form a board to protect old buildings. So that these buildings continue to be repaired and these buildings remain permanent.’
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