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Rafi Kachelo was probably one of the most famous
of the landlords of Sindh. He was the head of the
Kachelo family. The fame of the Kachelo name is
not limited to the borders of Pakistan. “Kachelo”
has become synonymous with quality mangoes. The
name is known in many countries of the world for
the famous mangoes of Kachelo Farms. He was
therefore known as the “King of Mangoes”.
Rafi Kachelo was able to achieve fame for his
mangoes due to his constant efforts to utilize the
best of agricultural technologies. He was always
keen to introduce the latest techniques available.
His efforts eventually bore fruit and he was able
to produce the finest quality of orchards and
fruit.
The Kachelo Farms are located at Kot Ghulam
Muhammad near Mirpurkhas in Sindh. The garden next
to his house on the farms is also famous for its
beauty. Rafi Kachelo had developed this garden
with great pain, growing unique plants and trees,
and using the best techniques of landscaping.
Rafi Kachelo was also a well-respected personality
of Sindh. He was chosen to be the Minister of
Communications in the Cabinet of Jam Sadiq
Ali during 1990-1992. He was well known in the political circles,
and had been a close associate of the late
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Pir
Pagara, and many of the chiefs of army staff and
ministers in different governments.
Rafi Kachelo had been suffering from heart
disease. Due to continued illness, he flew to
London on June 22nd for treatment.
Later on one of his kidneys also failed. His
condition improved in London, and he was
eventually able to leave the hospital and come
home to his flat in London for recuperation. It
was during this period when the hand of destiny
struck. His condition deteriorated all
of a sudden and he was taken back to the Chelsea
Westminster Hospital,
where he died of a heart failure on Thursday, July
29th, 1999.
His funeral casket was brought to Karachi on board
PIA flight no. PK 728 on the morning of Monday,
August 2, 1999, and was taken the same afternoon
by road to Kot Ghulam Mohammed, District
Mirpurkhas for burial at the Kachelo family
graveyard. Before the sun set on that Monday
morning, Rafi Kachelo had been buried in his
ancestral graveyard next to the mango orchards.
His daughter Anoushka (who is a lawyer in London)
also gained fame as the youngest woman at the age
of 24, and the first Pakistani to walk the last
degree to the North Pole. It took her 8 days to
cross 50 miles of snow covered area, hauling a
55kg load on sledge. She accomplished this feat on
24 April 2004. This was despite the fact that
temperatures fell to as low as -22 degrees at
times fearing frostbite. She had to travel 12
hours each day. Upon reaching the North Pole, she
planted the flag of Pakistan there.
It took her months of training and dragging heavy
loads to be able to take on this extremely
difficult challenge. She used this to raise 19,000
pounds sterling for charities.
Indeed Anoushka is a pride for Pakistan.
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