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It has a clock tower which sometimes loses badly in the race against time. Occasionally it gives a triumphant look when someone on the exceedingly busy Bunder Road (M. A. Jinnah Road) looks up inadvertently and spots the clock which is as timeless as the ‘sand in an hourglass'. It may not be working… rest assured it's a chronometer of sorts. It takes you to an era when life was valued; when art had a role in every aspect of development, including architecture; when stone was not just meant to hurt opponents with. And it brings you back to the period in which humans and vehicles seem to have the same temper.

Lakshmi Building stands out at one corner of Bunder Road like King Lear in that terrible storm without his kingdom. It may have lost its sense but has not lost its shape, and is a delight to look at. There are no alarming signs of chipping and cracking (perhaps this writer wasn't able to spot any of that); however, the shades of black on its tough as nails pinkish exterior mar the building's charm to a great extent. It is not a classically built structure; it is markedly different from the usual colonial, bossed-stone type of architecture. Nonetheless, it is one heck of a building!

“Lakshmi Building was built in 1924. It borrows heavily from the architecture of the skyscrapers of Chicago and New York. I think it is well-occupied and well-used and I don't think it is in danger of disintegration. The SBP one is already on the heritage list so they cannot pull it down. These buildings cannot be preserved unless environmental degradation on Bunder Road is not handled properly. And that will happen with an effective mass transit system for the area - which is the key to conserving the old city.”

Lakshmi in Hindu mythology is the goddess of wealth. Bank is a place where you put your money for safety purposes. Jewellery cannot be bought without the money. All are related. In the context of the buildings mentioned above, all are unrelated.

[Source: Karachi Legacies of Empires by Peerzada Salman]

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