A WHILE BACK on a post on the old Pakistan Chowk neighborhood and the nearby old Lambert Market, I have promised to share the story of a Hindu family that lived there. The Pakistan Chowk area before partition was predominantly Hindu neighborhood with their nearby Swami Narayan Mandir on Bunder road and names like JaiRam Street and Outram Road. In one of the buildings near D.J. Science College lived Hargobind Mulchandani and his family. His dad worked for Indian and later Pakistan Railways. Harbobind got admission in the very FIRST BATCH of Dow Medical College Karachi when it opened in 1948. At that time it was under Bombay University. Soon after that there was some riots in the neighborhood and a mob threatened to set fire to their building. The family fled overnight taking a train to Lahore and managed to cross the border via Wagah to Ferozepur. They lived in a camp etc and from thereon Hargobind managed to get admission in Madras Medical College and complete his medical degree. He then migrated to Houston and worked as a General Practitioner. He became a friend, and and one day he wrote for me his story and allowed me to take his picture and requested me to let Dowites and others know about it. he yearned to see Karachi once more but said he could not bear to go there due to emotional reasons. Subsequently, he left for India some 15 years ago and I have not heard from him since. If anyone in India knows about him please inbox me. Thanks.
