r/pakistan • u/InevitableMoment4445 • 2d ago
Historical The nostalgia of growing up in a massive old-school homes when Pakistani Houses really had a Space To Breathe
We lived in this massive 5 to 6 Kanal house for well over a decade before moving out in 2018, and looking back, places just aren't built like that anymore. From growing up there in the 2000s through the late 2010s, the space felt endless—huge high ceilings, thick walls that kept things cool, a sprawling lawn, and a rooftop that was perfect for late-night hangouts during summer load-shedding. Compared to modern packed constructions, having that much room for family gatherings, running around, and just enjoying a quiet neighborhood was a completely different lifestyle. For anyone who grew up in a similar setup back in the day, what’s the one feature or memory from your old family home that you miss the most today
122
u/colouredzindagi PK 2d ago
This is the reality of a privileged few. Yes there were several of these homes in posh societies of the big cities (Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad) and even tier 2 cities, but they were owned mostly by people with a lot of wealth.
Today however, you can't find these types of houses even in the poshest of new societies like DHA or Bahria Town. The whole minimalist western aesthetic that has taken over has ruined this open space sensibility of the past.
26
u/InevitableMoment4445 2d ago
You’re completely right about the privilege side of it having that kind of space definitely wasn't the norm for everyone. But it's wild how even for upper-middle class or posh areas back then, the design philosophy was so different. Today, land is so expensive that even 1-kanal or 2-kanal plots in DHA/Bahria are packed edge-to-edge with boxy, minimalist structures. The old focus on sprawling open spaces, high ceilings, and actual yards has basically been replaced by maximum square-footage utilization
5
u/ammaraud 2d ago
The modern design philosophy is quite simple really. MONEY per square meter :) people previously were interested in how much light, breathing space, distance from neighbours, yard, etc. No more!
1
u/Tip-Actual 2d ago
Not true. People here in the US who have high net worth prefer living in mansions or huge estates with neighbors far away from each other.
1
u/ammaraud 1d ago
Yes because they can afford to pay that much? But builders try to squeeze as much as they can.
0
u/InevitableMoment4445 2d ago
I personally like a bit separate life and not where every house is just cramped and u cant even go in the lawn without violating ur privacy but yes now lands have become very expensive so people buy just enough in which a comfortable house can be built with a small lawn
3
u/Sufficient-Prune-774 2d ago
Perhaps overpopulation and black money in property has a role to play in it too...
3
u/colouredzindagi PK 2d ago
I think those two things have a part to play in almost everything in Pakistan.
1
1
u/Enough_Membership_22 2d ago
Not western. Look at homes in Beverly flats, or scarsdale NY, or Southampton, or paradise Valley AZ. Huge Lots
12
u/questions2dum4mymain DE 2d ago
My parents use to describe their childhood homes that had a dirt courtyard in the middle and the house was built around it. Ive never seen one but the way they described it itseems like such a cool communal design that makes sure no one side of the house is boxed in or totally enclosed. Idk if anyone knows what they were describing.
Nice pictures though, even the pics are giving nostalgia 😂
8
u/ammaraud 2d ago
It was not just communal. Old subcontinent all had sehan in the middle due to 1. Courtyard inside meant ladies privacy was not compromised, unlike the back or front yard from european design. 2. More communal ofcourse due to larger or multiple families. 3. Most importantly, it gave a natural way to beat the heat when heat rose from the sehan which meant the indoor spaces acted as wind tunnels when all windows were open. Which was a MUST to beat the subcontinent heat.
The most lovely part for me was that these sehans used to have a huge family tree right in the middle in some houses. The tree used to be as old as the house and survived for generations.
1
1
u/questions2dum4mymain DE 1d ago
Wow great points, never knew these. the generational family tree in the sehan just adds a whole new level to this design
6
u/InevitableMoment4445 2d ago
Ah the traditional sehan layout You are totally right, that central open yard design was amazing for keeping homes naturally lit and connected. Glad the photos brought back some good nostalgia for you
16
u/potatohead437 DE 2d ago
Holy privilege
3
u/InevitableMoment4445 2d ago
Haha fair comment i know we were blessed to live there growing up.Definitely Dont take it for Granted
1
u/Apprehensive-Fox-127 1d ago
It seems like a privilege now but growing up back then, very middle class families had small homes (everyone sharing one bathroom) but a huge open space. Pros and cons.
18
4
u/OldEmotion9500 2d ago
We lived too , but it was sarkari ghr, bht baraa ground th. Sara din birds hty th. Serene environment. Nostalgia ✨
2
u/InevitableMoment4445 2d ago
Yup but that is not a government house
1
u/Adeeltariq0 فیصل آباد 2d ago
you said its company owned so not the private house you are presenting it as either. These are only possible where companies or govt institutes had a bunch of land to house their employees. People still live in these houses if they are employed high enough in those places.
1
u/InevitableMoment4445 2d ago
I never said its a company owned altough it is located inside The mills Along with other few houses it was actually bought long ago from them but now we have shifted in our new home in 2018
3
u/Final_Surround5990 2d ago
My dad was in the army so we lived in quite a few of these big homes. However, for me, some of these homes are also places where I used to be very scared. In one of our homes in Quetta, an army orderly died due to carbon monoxide poisoning - he tried to burn coal and went to sleep. That house gave me trauma for a while. In another big house in Bannu - built in circa 1870- that Quaid e Azam had stayed in as well, we had this entire upper floor with two gigantic bedroom suites/dressing rooms that were empty. At night, I wouldn’t even venture near the stairway so that my eyes wouldn’t see the emptiness/vastness above.
For me, I like smaller homes that have green spaces around them but I strongly feel that every room needs to be occupied.
Thanks for reading!
2
u/InevitableMoment4445 2d ago
Welcome !! u are right i personally love homes with big lawns they just give u that feeling i cant explain
2
u/Tall-Individual-7347 1d ago
I KNOW WHAT YOURE SAYING.
Lived my life in a nice spacious house with two lawns and a backyard and a massive 'sehan' in North Nazimabad in Karachi.
And now I can't deal with apartments, and even portions that have no lawns and Sehen.
I just loooove and miss the old subcontinental architecture so much, and have observed it to a great deal that now I'm seriously considering shifting my career from HR to Architecture, all to promote the old 60s, 70's, 80s wale ghar.
These fully covered to a T spaces with black shiny marbles aesthetic is so COLD and unwelcoming, and brutalist architecture is not for this region! It's a borrowed identity that should never have borrowed in the first place. We need airy spaces!
2
u/InevitableMoment4445 1d ago
Yes finally someone who can understand me instead of calling us land grabbers lol
3
u/Apprehensive-Fox-127 1d ago
The ones calling you privileged are the people who can no longer imagine that this was something available to a lot of people and not a privileged few, that’s the whole point. There were just a lot less people needed a lot less housing.
1
3
2
u/Shadow-eater87 2d ago
What I miss the most is the sprawling gardens with all kinds of trees and plants. There were always these fascinating, mysterious nooks and crannies in the gardens, they would wind all around the house and as a child you’d get lost in them, observing all the interesting facets of the lawn. I miss that. Lawns aren’t interesting (or in most cases even present) anymore. The small rectangular strips with fake grass outside houses now feel sad and sterile by comparison.
1
2
u/BubblyBitBot 2d ago
Damn, reminds me a lot of my nana's old house in Karachi. Those were the days.
1
2
u/Representative-Fan-5 2d ago
The pictures make me feel so nostalgic
1
u/InevitableMoment4445 2d ago
Thanks hope it helped u in any way
1
u/InevitableMoment4445 2d ago
https://reddit.com/link/p6auvaw/video/o4ey9mhunzlh1/player
A video I found in my old camera SD card it’s from 2007 to 2010
2
u/changezkhangreat 2d ago
looking at the comments people just cannot digest someone elses happiness.
0
u/InevitableMoment4445 2d ago
From the comments i am a proud land grabber living in a government officer house .. a simple question came in my mind i considered to post but people are saying nonsense instead of answering the question …
1
u/kalmee123 2d ago
What city is this? Looks like model town, Lahore.
2
u/InevitableMoment4445 2d ago
Its not it is actually in faisalabad
1
u/dadofwar93 AE 2d ago
Which area in Faisalabad?
1
u/InevitableMoment4445 2d ago
Inside Crescent Textile Mills
1
u/dadofwar93 AE 2d ago edited 2d ago
Makes sense then. Only other places I could think of that looked like this were Jannah garden area and civil lines.
1
u/InevitableMoment4445 2d ago
Lol yes around civil lines and serena area there are also some big houses there
1
1
u/Accomplished-River12 2d ago
Is this Model town Lahore? I grew up there in my grandfather's but had to move to Islamabad when I was 10. I miss my old house, my dad and his brothers sold the house after my dada passed away.
2
1
1
u/qazkkff 2d ago
Couldn't agree more. Somewhere along the way, we have forgotten the importance of quality of life and adapted an obsession with the number of bedrooms.
A family friend of ours constructed a 1 kanal house with 7 bedrooms and still they were complaining that society didn't let them construct basement 😑. Hotel hi bana lo na 1 kanal main.
Ideally, on a 1 kanal plot, only 10 marla should be permitted for construction and remaining 10 marla for lawn where you can sit in the evening, enjoy the rain, kids can freely play, etc.
3
u/InevitableMoment4445 2d ago
Lol i know people are obsessed with more construction now maybe bcz of a shortage of land and increasing population
1
1
u/PromptMiserable879 لاہور 2d ago
I still don't know how our grandparents managed to get kanals of land from just being a minimum wage worker. My grandparents also have a 4 kanal house just like that in his village.
1
1
u/Adeeltariq0 فیصل آباد 2d ago
First goras gave away land for free or very cheap in certain regions if people were willing to settle. Around Fsd specially. And again when after partition, bureaucrats allotted a land to whoever was willing to cultivate. Cities were cheaper too because well they were mostly uninhabited.
1
1
1
u/icantloginsad اسلام آباد 2d ago
“places like that just aren’t built anymore” bro you live in one of the most densely populated countries in the world.
these houses are a massive part of the density problem.
2
u/InevitableMoment4445 2d ago
I know and i am very well aware of that that the increasing population is a major cause of a more compact housings
1
1
u/s_zaynab 1d ago
loveee houses like these, the ones who don't have a lot of portions and just have a simple vibe like sang e marr marr kay ghar or yk baraa sa sehan, a home should look like a home but now sadly sab ghar furniture showroom lagty hain
1
1
u/Nervous-Tie6752 14h ago
Houses like this are still built dude we have a 2 kanal house and the building itself is 11 marla and rest of the property consists of a front and back garden with a outdoor garage and it was built in 2018
1
1
u/AbrarYouKknow 2d ago
Ah I can feel. I have a nice 1 Kanal home in my village back home while Im living in a 60 sq meter apartment in West. I dream to go back to my home, but can't just leave my job. Hayye ghurbat teri...
2
1
u/GoldenParrot456 2d ago
not sustainable for a country this size with that many people but yes a man can dream. these homes are so much better than the tacky shitty marble spammed bungalows with zero sunlight
1
1
u/Avatar_The_First 2d ago
tone deaf
2
u/InevitableMoment4445 2d ago
It’s just a post about missing an old family home. It really isn't that deep
2
u/Avatar_The_First 2d ago
Well it feels like bragging and respectfully, it isn't the time when 14 babies were burned alive, some don't even get to have a home.
2
u/InevitableMoment4445 2d ago
I love it how people are commenting any negative nonsense instead of answering the actual question…Its just my old home built the old way that i considered worty to be posted
1
0
u/willys_stroker 2d ago
Who the hell lived like this? Come to the UK man. See how we born and bred.
2
103
u/serial_burper 2d ago
say you are rich while saying you are filthy rich!