Gurdwara Ratan Talao on Preddy Street in Karachi's old city is one of the few Sikh places of worship that has survived in recognisable form in Pakistan. The building dates from the early twentieth century, when Karachi had a substantial Sikh community concentrated in the commercial and port districts of the city. The gurdwara was abandoned at Partition and subsequently used for other purposes, but has been identified and partially restored as part of wider efforts to document and preserve the pre-Partition religious heritage of Karachi.
The building is worth seeking out for anyone interested in the layered religious history of the city, which once included large Hindu and Sikh communities alongside Muslims and Christians. The visible remnants of Karachi's pre-Partition diversity — the Hindu Gymkhana, the Gurdwara, the colonial churches — read as a compressed history of the city's transformation. The gurdwara is in the Saddar/Kharadar area, a short walk from the Empress Market, and can be combined with a walk through the older parts of the neighbourhood.