Sometimes we pass by beautiful places saying we’ll see them another day. Alas, that day seldom arrives!

This morning I made an an effort to stop at Jehangir Kothari Parade, which lies on my daily route. Jehangir Kothari Parade is a promenade built on land bequeathed by Seth Jehangir Hormusji Kothari to the city of Karachi back in 1919.(Wikipeadia) It is situated on a hilltop in the Clifton area of the city, famous for its Seaview Beach.  Overlooking the Arabian Sea, the monument was built in 1919 and opened to the Karachi public in 1920. There are two structures: the Promenade Pavilion and the Lady Lloyd Pier.

I have very fond childhood memories of clambering up the sloping sides of the promenade as a child. My father would stand by, enjoying a smoke, a cool seabreeze ruffling his hair and Karachi’s lights twinkling in the distance. An Igloo icecream cone would top off the magical evening.

Although much of what I enjoyed then has disappeared, Jehangir Kothari Parade still stands tall. It has weathered years of neglect and the fast encroaching population of the city. Yet it stands majestic in its simplicity.

In 2005 it was restored to a semblance of its past glory with the development of the Bagh Ibn-e- Qasim, that slopes gently towards the Arabian Sea. However, with the passage of over ten years, much of the good work is lost. The park lies parched, dry and dusty; the boundary wall is broken and incomplete; and the pathway leading to the Promenade itself lies in disrepair.

Call me a hopeless romantic, but despite all this, this iconic symbol of Karachi still beckons me with a come hither look. It says, “Better visit me soon, before I’m gone too.”