By Amin H. Karim MD

THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY (JAMSHED MEMORIAL HALL): Located on M.A Jinnah Road, opposite Radio Pakistan Karachi Building, the Theosophical Society’s main auditorium was named after Jamshed Nusserwanjee, the philanthropist and humanitarian who was Karachi’s first mayor, popularly known as “The Builder of Modern Karachi”. The Jamshed Memorial Hall was renovated in the 1950s, but it is only one aspect of the building that housed the Karachi branch of the Theosophical Society, founded in 1896, which now consists of a Montessori school, a lecture room, and two libraries, one of which is amongst the city’s oldest. The Theosophical Society remains a bastion of tolerance and theological-philosophical reflection in Karachi, as seen in the key tenets of the Society: “to form a nucleus of the universal brotherhood, without distinction of race or colour; to encourage the study of comparative religion, philosophy and science; and to investigate unexplained laws of nature.”(from a website of Karachi Biennale 2017).The old Taj Mahal Cinema was located in the same neighborhood as is Sabri Nehari.

Nusserwanji Ogra wrote: (FaceBook Post December 14, 2018) The founder of The Theosophical Society was Ms Annie Besant.
The Theosophical Society of Pakistan was founded by Late Jamshed Nusserwanji Mehta as rightly pointed out by Amin H Karim and Late Mrs Gool K. Minwalla was the President and my father was the Hon Secretary/Treasurer in the late sixtees/seventees, I don’t remember the exact dates.
The TSP was boxed in between Taj Mahal Cinema on the left n a Taj Restaurant, (owned by Baig saheb who used to run Tambola next to Qamar House opp. KPT)on the right. Opposite was Radio Pakistan n the famous Urdu Bazar and Tire market.