A Jewish architect who built Karachi!
Moses Somake (1875-1947) was a prominent architect in undivided India born to a Jewish family in Lahore. His family had earlier lived in Spain and Iraq. Moses spent most of his life in Karachi and designed some of the most beautiful heritage buildings our city boasts of today.
Flagstaff House, BVS Parsi School, Goan Association Hall, Edward House, Mules Mansion are just some of the buildings he designed. Not only that, his portfolio also included a mosque, a Christian club and a school for Zoroastrians. Can we imagine a Jewish architect designing a mosque in present times?
Moses Somake left his practice after he moved out of Karachi. A couple of years ago The Dawood Foundation celebrated him and his contributions towards building Karachi in an exclusive exhibition at TDF Ghar. Few years ago, Rumana Husain included him in her brilliant write-up on Karachi's lost Jews published in Newsline. Moses Somake's grandchildren who live in different parts of the globe were traced and contacted and they were thrilled to hear from people in Karachi who remembered their grandfather and informed them that some of the buildings designed by their grandfather are still intact.
The exhibition on Moses Somake by Dawood Foundation featured reminiscences of his granddaughter Doreen,
"“Papa was a kind and caring person and loved to play games with his grandchildren. His house in London was bombed during World War II. Luckily, he was safe because he had already moved away during the Blitz. Most of his belongings (including many of his papers and designs) were destroyed or badly damaged. He stayed with us in Norwich (where we had evacuated during the war) for some time. After the war, he moved back to London and lived in a hotel. When we returned to London, he came to live with us. He died peacefully on April 6, 1947 in London, from a stroke at our home.”