Aram Bagh ( meaning ''Garden of relaxation''), better known as Ram Bagh ( meaning ''Garden of

Ram Ram, ram, or RAM most commonly refers to: * A male sheep * Random-access memory, computer memory * Ram Trucks, US, since 2009 ** List of vehicles named Dodge Ram, trucks and vans ** Ram Pickup, produced by Ram Trucks Ram, ram, or RAM may also ref ...

'') is a neighborhood located in historic center of

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

that was built around the Aram Bagh Park. Aram Bagh has a high concentration of listed and protected heritage buildings, with many in a good state of conservation.

History

There has been an abundance of water in the Ram Bagh area of Karachi since ancient times and many wells were dug here to supply water to the residents that settled around it. According to

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

belief, the Hindu

avatar Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...

Sita Sita (; ), also known as Siya, Jānaki and Maithili, is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Sita is the consort of Rama, the avatar of god Vishnu, and is regarded as an avatar of goddess Lakshmi. She is t ...

and Lakshman stayed at this location on their way to Hinglaj pilgrimage after spending 14 years in a jungle. Since that time, Ram Bagh became a place of pilgrimage for Hindus. Arif Hasan claims Karachi was called ''Ramya'' in some

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texts. The

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built an army

cantonment A cantonment (, , or ) is a type of military base. In South Asia, a ''cantonment'' refers to a permanent military station (a term from the British Raj). In United States military parlance, a cantonment is, essentially, "a permanent residential ...

in Ram Bagh area after they conquered

from the

Kalmati Kalmati or Kalmat is a Baloch clan settled in Balochistan, Pakistan. Members of the clan also live in Iran and Afghanistan. Kalmatis mostly work in cultivation and business. The famous graveyard called Chaukhandi tombs in Karachi, is assoc ...

in 1839. The Ram Bagh Quarter had three water tanks, including a prominent one named the Rambagh Tank, which was 9 acres in size. The British named the entire locality as Ram Bagh after this water tank. Wells in Ram Bagh were used to supply the British Cantonment to the east. During the

1857 Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...

against

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, rebels were blasted by canons by the British forces in Ram Bagh. In 1939, Deewan Jethanand built Ram Bagh -a park positioned near Swami Narayan temple, which is located on the nearby Burns Road. Ram Bagh was used for Hindu religious gatherings and celebrations, as well as political gatherings. The ''

Ramlila Ramlila or Ramleela (; literally 'Rama's lila or play') is any dramatic folk re-enactment of the life of Rama according to the ancient Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' or secondary literature based on it such as the '' Ramcharitmanas''. It particular ...

'' story was enacted in Ram Bagh annually which lasted ten days. During the

partition of British India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Pakistan is the Islam ...

in 1947, some homes of the Hindu community in Ram Bagh were looted; during this time, thousands of

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refugees from

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set up camps in Ram Bagh and it was renamed as ''Aram Bagh'' i.e. ''Garden of relaxation'', to mark the end of their arduous journey to

. The area is still home to about 40 Hindu families, who report good relations with their Muslim neighbors.

Religious sites

The Shiv Mandir is located in Aram Bagh and is open on Monday evenings. It was built by Astan Shrimati Hajeebai in memory of Ram Mangat Ram, her husband. Aram Bagh is also home to the Rameshwar Mahadev Mandir, built in the 1920s and still in use. In the past, Ram Bagh also contained the Ram Chandur Temple, among three other

mandir A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to whom it is dedica ...

s, each of which were "situated at the four corners of the Tank." Aram Bagh Masjid, as well as the Shiv Mandir and Swami Narayan Mandir, are located in the Aram Bagh area. The Aram Bagh Masjid was built in Aram Bagh, atop the stage on which ''

'' performances occurred, by the Muslims refugees that settled around the Aram Bagh. Aram Bagh is also home to a functioning Sikh temple, the Guru Nanak Satsang Sabha

Gurdwara A gurdwara or gurudwara () is a place of assembly and place of worship, worship in Sikhism, but its normal meaning is "place of guru" or "home of guru". Sikhism, Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths and rel ...

, built in 1935, which serves the small Sikh community of Aram Bagh as well as Nanakpanthi Hindus The Gurdwara had come under of Hindu residents until 2016, when the Pakistani Supreme Court ordered it to be handed back to the Sikh community.

Heritage buildings

As per th
Sindh Directorate of Antiquities

Protected

Unprotected

References

External links

List of heritage sites in Aram BaghThe story of Ram Bagh

Infiltration by the gods

Aram Bagh Masjid

Aram Bagh Park

From Rambagh to Arambagh

{{Parks in Karachi Parks in Karachi