Please do not take our PC away!

By Dr. Muhammad Hafizullah

“Sir, please sit on this side of the table,” the bearer requested and I looked at him with surprise, but he smiling added, "Because the view is better!" It's almost three decades ago when the hotel was inaugurated. The main restaurant was on the first floor, in the corner overlooking the sprawling golf club. It must be the second or third day after formal inauguration and there was hardly any rush. The newly recruited waiters were standing in a row with their eyes focussed on the guests. Free advice was at hand as to where to sit and what to select for eating. From this lonely restaurant then another was developed opposite to it overseeing the swimming pool. Bar BQ restaurant around the pool was a wonderful new experience for Peshawarites and a must to visit at least once in a fortnight. Taipan - the best Chinese restaurant of the city of today or more appropriately of yesterday was built in place of swimming lockers and bathrooms. The rooftop Bar BQ restaurant was renovated a year and half ago and was appreciated by all and unsolicited suggestions were offered how to make it better! Marco Polo restaurant, on the ground floor, has been used by most of us like our own second dining room. Most of the inhabitants of this province are witness to all these developments like the residents of a house. All these developments had direct and indirect effects on our daily and personal life.

My son received his first swimming lesson when he was only three and this was in Pearl Continental. I clearly remember his first day when he was hesitant to venture into shallow even with arm bands and tube. Next year he was confidently diving into the deep end. Two years later he had mastered all the different styles, and could cover more than half of length under water. He could give his teacher a considerable lead when challenged. We swam together for decades. We played badminton and table tennis over there. He used to wander around in the gymnasium and try to lift the weights which he could not. There are anecdotes related to every inch of the pool and the adjoining areas. This is the area which saw my son growing from a toddler to a young man and he must perceive this as an integral part of his childhood memories! And same shall be true for thousands of young men who learnt swimming in this pool and spent their evenings playing games and building up stamina in the gymnasium.

Being the lonely five star hotel, Pearl Continental and Intercontinental of the yesteryear, was the venue for all important functions held in the city. All major medical conferences were held over here. I played host to at least six major national conferences over here. Peshawar chapter of Cardiac Society hosted Biennial Cardiology Conference in 1991 and I was the General Secretary. This place accommodated our national and more than fifty foreign delegates. I literally spent seventy-two hours continuously over there. No other place could offer three halls for simultaneous sessions, sitting dinner, large hall for inauguration and closing function besides accommodation. And even now, after two decades there is no other place to offer comparable facilities. Later, we hosted conferences on Preventive cardiology, Hypertension league, Diabetes and medical research. Without Pearl Continental, the already deprived Peshawar will have no avenue to present, when decisions about holding large meetings will be made at different forums!

Besides mega functions, Pearl Continental was the venue for our frequent medical knowledge sharing programmes, hosted by different drug companies. I must have delivered scores of lectures on different forums introducing new drugs and new concepts in the world of medicine. We had many general awareness sessions with enthusiastic participation of public. Umpteenth times pharmaceutical industry held functions to disseminate the latest knowledge featuring foreign speakers. 

Pearl Continental was the status symbol and all important marriages took place over here. It offered the best arrangements with ample parking and air conditioned milieu to brave sweltering heat and freezing cold. Though food was not always at its best but the arrangements were comparable to any other five star hotels in the country. The biggest plus point was the ever friendly and cooperative staff of the hotel. They would always give a personal touch to their professional commitment. Many marriage and engagement functions of my immediate family were arranged in Pearl Continental and for those couples the hotel has a nostalgic value and a part of those happy memories. 

Regional food festivals and 'Roja Matai', organised in the spacious lawn in the front, had their own allure and charm. People of the province looked forward to the extravaganza and participated enthusiastically. This offered an important social reason to get together. It added the much wanted spice to the otherwise dull social life in Peshawar. And again this was a place to bump into old acquaintances and friends. Pearl Continental was more like a club with no restrictions and a hub of social activities. Is there any other place which offers such facilities?

Pearl Continental hotel had the honour of hosting innumerable cultural and literary functions. As a matter of fact all important functions of significance were held over here. The hotel had been witness to recitation of poets of Faraz and Faiz fame and renderings of all important writers. I very fondly remember Zia Mohyuddin's par excellence recital and soul stirring performance of Swirling Dervishes from Konia. Three halls on the first floor offered enough space to enjoy renderings of Ghazal singers and musical functions. The hotel offered us many opportunities to enjoy performances of foreign troupes. In many ways Pearl Continental transcended the boundaries of a commercial organisation and became the centre of our cultural activities.

Pearl Continental hotel has been an integral part of our social heritage. For many it has a special place in their fond memories being host to some very important functions of their life. It was the only safe and efficient venue for large functions - official, semi official and private. Peshawar will be deprived of mega medical conferences for want of a decent space to host the function and house hundreds of guests. This is a place where our children have grown and they can relate innumerable anecdotes to its corridors, halls and pools. This is the only presentable place in the province for our foreign delegates.  Over the period of time it has assumed the importance of a heritage of Peshawar, please do not take our Pearl Continental away from us!