Harris Khalique - Those Were the Days

We used to live on the Garden Road in the 1970s and 80s, on the part that connected M A Jinnah Road with the Zoo. The strip was not that long but had trees on both sides whose thick foliage would stretch relaxingly to meet each other and give shade to pedestrians and onlookers.

The cars and minibuses plying on the road underneath were also saved from the hot summer sun by some old neems and banyans which had a large presence, whether they were on the left or the right side of the road. The place had more than half-a-dozen cinema halls at walking distance. Reno, which showed cheap, near-rated films to students during the matinee and rickshaw drivers and small traders in the evening, was just off Garden Road. Across M A Jinnah Road were Bambino, Scala (with a smaller screen) and Lyric. Turning left on M A Jinnah would take you to Prince, Nishat and Capri with Naz on the same side as Bambino. In these cinemas, the best of popular Hollywood was shown besides box-office hits from Pakistani cinema. Films, good or bad, were screened, liked, disliked and discussed.

Except for an all-male Reno, it was a family affair. Love birds would also be seen in the stalls and boxes above or beside us and we would eavesdrop and giggle before being snubbed by an aunt who would be more interested in Humphrey Bogart than the young banker sitting behind her with his first date. I was particularly privileged because my father would get passes to some of the premieres or otherwise. Big-screen cinema for free. What a treat for a youngster. I know, if not to the extent of what it was like in Karachi and Lahore, other cities had similar facilities. I remember being taken to Hilltop and Chandni cinemas whenever I visited my uncle and aunt in Hyderabad....