The Karachi Gymkhana (Sindhi

Sindhi language

Sindhi is the language of the Sindh region of Pakistan that is spoken by the Sindhi people. In India, it is among 22 constitutionally recognized languages, where Sindhis are a sizeable minority. It is spoken by 53,410,910 people in Pakistan, according to the national government's Statistics Division...

: ڪراچي جمخانه, Urdu

Urdu

Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...

: کراچی جِمخانہ) is a premier gymkhana

Gymkhana

Gymkhana is a typical Anglo-Indian expression, which is derived from the Hindi-Urdu word for "racket court," is an Indian term which originally referred to a place where sporting events take place. The meaning then altered to denote a place where skill-based contests were held...

 (sports club) in the city of Karachi. It is located on Club Road in Karachi

Karachi

Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...

, Sindh

Sindh

Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...

, Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

.

Membership

Over 9000 members are enrolled in the club. Karachi Gymkhana is one of the largest clubs in Asia, in terms of membership and sports facilities.

Facilities

The KG Club provides various sports and games facilities for its members. The club has a main building with a restaurant, snooker room, cafe and prayer room. There is a separate sports building and a cricket ground. There are tennis and squash courts as well. Most sports activities have coaches for newcomers. One has to pay for coaching services and membership is necessary to enroll in coaching courses. Every year there is an annual sports festival in which members and their children take part in various sports events on the cricket ground. There are regular tournaments for squash, swimming, cricket, table tennis and tennis. There are three types of swimming pools. One is the main pool for experienced swimmers, and there is one for learners. There is also one for younger children and toddlers. The Karachi Gymkhana cricket ground has been home to many famous matches as well. Famous cricketers such as Imran Khan

Imran Khan

Imran Khan Niazi is a Pakistani politician and former Pakistani cricketer, playing international cricket for two decades in the late twentieth century. After retiring, he entered politics...

have played on the cricket ground.

Pakistani writer's book upsets historians in India
May 21, 2011, TNN [ Yudhvir Rana ]
AMRITSAR: Pakistani writer Iqbal Kaiser's latest book has come under severe criticism for distorting historical facts.

The controversial book titled 'Historical Sikh Shrines in Pakistan' is published by Punjabi History Board, Lahore and is being sold for Rs 2000, Pakistani currency.

"In his book, Kaiser has mentioned Seth Gopaldas Goverdandas Mohatta Hindu Gymkhana, Karachi as Gurdwara Pehli Patshahi. However, this is not a fact," said historian Surinder Kochhar while talking to TOI on Saturday.

Kochhar said the building was constructed in 1925 and was declared a protected monument under the Sindh Cultural Heritage Act 1994. The building was then transformed into National Academy of Performing Arts Services. He said the images of the building were available on internet and Kaiser had deliberately described it as Gurdwara Pehli Patshahi for gaining cheap publicity.

Kaiser has also mentioned Sant Ajulal Jholilal memorial, Bulani, in Sindh province as Gurdwara Pehli Patshahi Bulani. The historian said that Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee should take notice of such misleading information and propaganda by a Pakistani writer and should take steps to correct these facts.

Earlier Kaiser had stated that Maharaja Ranjit Singh had removed the marble from the mosques and tombs of Lahore and had used them in various Gurdwaras.