karachiwala: a subcontinent within a city

By Rumana Husain

Karachiwala: a subcontinent within a city, describes the diversity and change within Karachi, as a microcosm and not only for Pakistan but of the entire South Asian region. A selection of interviews converges into a unique celebration of the people and their chosen city.

Karachiwala offers a window-view of the city. It presents Karachi’s social and physical diversity through the personal stories, families or groups and through them elaborates upon the lifestyle, language, values and interests of each community. Whether ethnic, professional, religious or social, each has a unique story. Karachiwala reveals how these different communities together create the cosmopolitan character of the city, and give it its vitality and resilience amidst its social disparities and tensions.

Spread over 330 pages, Karachiwala contains more than 600 illustrations. Photographs, family trees, maps, diagrams, and foldouts add rich layers of graphic detail, interconnecting the heavily researched text to the dynamics of a growing city. the book also features brief essays specially written by five eminent citizens, elaborating on their own experience of living in this ever-changing metropolis.

Book review from Liberty Books