Karachi still has a downtown - an area called Saddar - and it's so crowded during the day and for most of the evening that your senses are overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of hundreds of people, exhaust fumes from cars, autorickshaws, and the ubiquitous honking buses.
On the occasional late night or early morning drive through the area - or if you look up - you can spot another era beneath what's been superimposed on top: beautiful architecture, old cinema signs, buildings that could be elegant if they weren't near-crumbling in decay, emblazoned with hundreds of bright signs.
Saddar used to be the heart of Karachi's high life - before alcohol was banned, and the cinemas closed down. The fifties and sixties were an era when dance halls and clubs bustled with music and the good times of the city's privileged classes spilled out into the streets, and into the small two-story Cafe Darakhshan, an Iranian café that still stands today. We enjoyed a snack and a cup of tea at Darakshan the other day after a shoot.
Saddar's pride has also always been it's religious and ethnic diversity, and the peaceful coexistence of these groups. While not everyone may agree that the dance halls and drinks should come back, surely the entire city would appreciate the return of an era when target killings and suicide attacks were totally inconceivable.
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