Karachi character
The young man and the sea
By Ayecha Ahmed
Javed Khurd is a Balochi speaking fisherman living on the outskirts of Karachi, in Mubarak Village which was named after his grandfather. It is a small rural community consisting of fisherman. He likes living in Mubarak Village as the place is quiet, unlike the city, yet is still a part of it. Although Mubarak Village is underdeveloped, and Javed is the only member of his family who regulary commutes to the city, he does not want to move to the city as his ancestors belonged to the village, and he cant see himself surviving the city life for more than a few hours.

When the gurdwara (Sikh temple) reverberates with sounds of "Sut siri akaal," and "Vahiguru ji ka khalsa," it is hard to believe that one is not in Indian Punjab but Ranchore Lines in Karachi.

With approximately 3500 members of sikh community residing in Karachi, the Narain Pura Compound in Ranchore Lines houses almost 300 followers of Guru Nanak. The rest of the devotees can be found in the areas surrounding Kohinoor Centre, Jubilee Cinema, Garden Road and Manora.

With six gurdwaras in different parts of the city, Karachi has its fair share of temples of the world's fifth largest religion. Nevertheless, the Gurdwara Sikh Sangat in Ranchore Lines is the only centre of all religious activity since the gurdwaras at Preedy Street, Saddar and Arambagh have been sealed due to disputes. The temples at Manora, Bandar Road and Lee Market are not large enough to cater to the entire community.

The small-roomed Sikh Sangat Gurdwara is thus the place where devotees from all over the city convene during festivals. Around 80 worshippers can be accommodated in the room while the rest are hosted in the adjacent veranda and the langar khana (free-kitchen).

Built in 1910, the blue-walled gurdwara located off the congested and dilapidated roads of the compound exemplifies the basic principals of Sikhism - simplicity and modesty.

The simple gurdwara revered by every sikh in Karachi is unadorned except for with religious symbols and objects. The Guru Granth Sahib, the sikh holy book, sits on a wooden palki draped in a gold embroidered sheet and placed on a rack in the centre of the room, with a khanda (sword), siri (larger sword) and Ik oonkaar ka nishan sahib (symbol of God's oneness) resting on the floor beneath it. A bed for the sacred book is placed on one end of the room and the Guru ki gullak (charity box) rests by the windows, bearing the oonkaar ka nishan. Khara prasad, religious sweet made of flour, ghee and sugar, lies in a tray, to be distributed amongst devotees after prayers. However, despite being extremely simple, the colours and aura of the temple still provide an enriching experience during festival time.

On the evening of Guru Nanak's 359th birth anniversary on November 24, the most cherished festival in Sikhism, small, funky green and yellow fairylights light up the outer walls of the gurdwara. Streamers in orange and blue, the colours of bhagti (devotion), sway in the night air sweet with the aroma of khara prasad being prepared in the langar khana and the melodious ik oonkar being played on harmonium. Little girls giggle as they excitedly wait for their sweet treats.

A number of faithful from the entire city are part of the seven day celebrations comprised of the akhand path (the continuous recitation of the 1430 paged Guru), keerthan (group recitation of hymns to tabla and harmonium) and seva (community service), during the free-kitchen. On the concluding day of the celebration, the faces of devotees shine with the satisfaction of concluding the akhand path successfully. As turbaned sikh men clad in kurta pyjama decorate themselves with the five Ks; the five essential symbols of Sikhism, kirpan (sword), keshh (uncut hair), kara (steel bracelet), kangha (brush) and katchera (knee-length underpants), a large number of sikh boys mill about minus the five Ks and wearing jeans instead.

"They are mona sikhs," says Sardar Ramesh Singh, who chairs the Sikh Naujawan Sabha Karachi.

According to a rough estimate, only 300-400 people in Karachi remain Khalsa Sikh (pure Sikh) observing all religious obligations, while the rest, mostly the younger generation, are Mona Sikh who are regarded as partial followers of the religion.

Sardar Ramesh claims that unlike other minorities, the Sikh community is not subject to any kind of prejudice by the majority but feels that younger Sikhs neglect religion due to the influence by the majority. "We don't have separate community schools for our children and the gurdwara is the only place where we can impart religious education to our youth."

Sardar Ramesh is saddened by the fact that young Sikhs do not care to dress like Sikhs, even though it never garners negative attention. "They avoid looking like a Sikh either because they are evading religious obligations or perhaps they are ashamed to stand out amongst the majority," he believes.

Sunil Singh however has another story to tell. A ninth grader at a local school, Sunil is a clean-shaven boy with only khanda and khalsa nishans wrapped round his neck and a romal sahib covering his head instead of a turban.

"I cut my hair because we are not allowed to grow them at school," he says. Contrary to his elders' complaint of him being disinterested in religion, he is very interested in Sikhism, and has learned Gormukhi to understand the Guru Granth Sahib completely.

As Sunil prostrates in front of Guru Garanth Sahib, the book considered as the last living guru among Sikhs, he shares that he wants to drink amrit panth.

Amrit panth is a must for a Sikh. A drink made of water and sugar with selected religious words read on it, it calls for on oath from the follower to surrender his will to God and abstain from certain things throughout life, "an amrit panthi has to live a simple life and refrain from eating meat of any kind," says Sunil, a huge fan of the KFC Zinger Burger. He plans to quit eating it after drinking amrit panth.

As a panthi recites Guru Granth Sahib aloud while fanning it with a chawwar sahib (a hand made fan) repeatedly, Sunil listens in awe to the keerthan by the sangat (a group of people). "I want to accomplish enough so that I am able to benefit my people," he says.

The Sikh community, usually referred to jokingly as sardar jis, with gags made about their daftness around the sub-continent, is living a less than perfect life in Karachi, as minorities in most countries tend to.

The Sikh community in Karachi discontinues with education after matriculation and dabbles in odd jobs, marrying by the age of eighteen. In the Narayan Pura Compound alone are 40 houses of the members of the community with the major source of income for men being clerical or gofer jobs, while the women work as ayahs in schools.

Exceptions include government clerks and two or three Masters degree holders. Sardar Ramesh says this is because, "we are not financially strong and hence prefer working over education," he adds that due to poverty a family of eight to nine people ends up sharing a single room quarter. "An average Sikh man here does not earn more than 6000 rupees, and the women, 4000 rupees, which is not enough for the family of eight."

Despite their destitution, Sikhs such as Ramesh Singh are content, "people think we are guests from India and treat us with respect," says Sardar Ramesh, smiling broadly. He perhaps doesn't realize that the majority in Karachi is unaware that his community even exists within their city.

Sunil realizes this irony, "I am friends with both Muslims and Christians. We eat together, hang out together and would do anything for each other. But when they try to cut sardar ji jokes with me, I firmly tell them that sardars are not dim-witted or to be made fun of."

Sunil thinks that amrit panth alone is not the only thing that a boy his age dreams of, "I dream of becoming a world renowned cricketer or a soldier guarding the country, only then will I make my community proud of me," Sunil shares his goals, his father works as a driver.

Just as clear on her ambitions is nine-year-old Simran Singh, daughter of a school-maid. "I want to be a teacher," she says excitedly while doing the bhangra with her elder brother, "I like teachers and I want to be like them."

Simran has to shout out her plans over the sound of the keerthan being played through loud speakers, the beat of dhol and the noise made by the happily dancing sikhs.

The seven day long celebrations conclude with a sacred palki carried by the Sikh crowd around the compound. The palki is designed to hold the Guru Granth Sahib, the book that teaches Sikh followers that there is only one God and that all religions provide paths to God. The langar at the end of celebrations includes vegetable curry, chapatti, rice, pulses and yoghurt. The langar is a manifestation of the Sikh belief of equality among all mankind with the young and old, men and women having it together. The langar also teaches sikhs to carry that equilibrium in their practical lives, a concept Sunil and Simran already understand well.

Next week Sabeen Jamil writes on Narayan Pura Compound being the secular face of Karachi.

Empress Market has an important historical background. It was built on the ground where Indian soldiers who had revolted against the British in 1857 were punished for their defiance. Some were hanged while others were tied to cannon balls and blown to pieces. The British government, alarmed by Hindus and Muslims commemorating the sacrifice of Indian soldiers for their land feared that the place might acquire a central position for all social and political revolts. It was therefore decided that something new and utilitarian be constructed, which would at the same time provide a space for the locals to mix with the government. In 1883, Sir James Ferguson, Governor of Bombay at the time, laid the foundation of the building. The market was constructed to mark the celebrations of Queen Victoria's Silver Jubilee.

Thus Empress Market came into being surrounded by beautiful, lush green parks. An interesting thing to note is that the maintenance of the main building of the Empress Market is funded by the Queen of England annually. "A part of these funds is used to varnish, repair and maintain the outer and sometimes the inner area of the building whereas most of it is consumed by our local government and used for their personal ends," comments Mr Liaquat Ali, President of the Empress Market Association. He further says that the City Government of Karachi and the Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) should join hands to work out a mutual plan to work on improving the building exterior as well the market inside.

Initially the market was built on a small area with 280 stalls in total and was surrounded by four parks. Today different markets have been constructed in these parks which accommodate a large number of shops and stalls. There are around 711 shops in Empress Market alone and approximately 2000 shops and stalls in the adjoining markets.

The market has eight different sections which sell everything from meat to electronic appliances. One of the best things about Empress Market is the organized manner in which business is carried out, making life easy for shop keepers and customers.

The shops of main Empress Market and the adjoining markets are under the authority of KMC. The shop keepers and the stall holders pay monthly rent to the KMC. These rents vary and depend on the size and position of the shops. According to Haji Aslam Chakkiwala, President Grand Alliance of Shop Keepers and General Secretary of Khawaja Shahab-ud-din Market Keeper Welfare Association, the monthly rent their fathers paid for these shops in 1952, the year in which KMC made and rented these shops was 10 rupees. Now they have to pay 50 per cent more in addition to the present rate in case of legal transfer of shops from father to kin. According to Haji Aslam, the city government plans to abolish existing markets and construct a new shopping centre and a vast parking area capable of accommodating around 1500 to 2000 cars.

City Nazim Mustafa Kamal, members of the KMC and market associations have had a discussion forum in order to decide the future of the shop keepers and stall holders. Haji Aslam further elaborates that the Nazim has offered to allot two plots in Lines Area where shops and stalls can be relocated till they are allotted permanent shops in the new shopping plaza. The shop keepers of Khawaja Shahab-ud-din Market have mixed responses to this proposal.

A senior shop keeper and ex-member of the association, Gulzar Ahmed Khan strongly condemns abolishment of the market and disagrees with the idea of shifting. He comments, "We did not migrate to Pakistan just to hear one day that the market where our fathers started business is being abolished and we will have to shift."

Another shop keeper says that they are ready to leave their market and shift to another place allotted to them if they are assured by the government that the area will be preserved as a spot of traditional significance or will be revamped into a shopping plaza and parking lot. "Parking is undoubtedly one of the major problems in Saddar and we will be happy to co-operate in this regard, but first the government will have to confirm that they are not selling the place to the private sector."

Mr Aslam says that shop keepers have laid their conditions infront of the city government. He fears that the Lines Area lacks security and therefore might affect the turnover as customers might feel unsafe in the area.

Stalls constitute a major portion of the market. These stalls are of various sizes, built arbitrarily alongside courtyard passages and some in front of shops. The stalls sell various items out of which some are quite unique and rare in the city.

A fruit vendor who proffers starfruit, rarely found in Karachi, points out that the turnover of the market is declining day by day. "I have been working here for the last 40 years. The increasing population has resulted in heavy traffic, noise, and pollution. The city bursts at the seams with people, yet our income has decreased drastically."

Most shop keepers complain about the declining turnover of the market. Liaquat Ali explains that because several shopping centers and plazas have been built in various parts of the city, it is convenient for people to shop near their houses, "It saves time and money," he says.

Moreover, people avoid commuting to distant areas, especially traffic-laden Saddar. Fewer customers have led to inadequate business. "The problem of car parking is also affecting the turnover," Mr Liaquat elaborates. Customers who park their cars outside the main entrance in order to shop often find their cars have been towed away. This is yet another strike against Empress Market.

Zainab Bibi, 56, runs a small candy shop at her house and visits Empress Market every month to buy wholesale products which she later sells off in her shop. In her opinion the market was, "once a safe place to shop but today many pick-pockets roam here and one often finds one's money or mobile phone missing."

Another interesting and unique thing about Empress Market is the large group of Bengali and Kathiawari women who sit along the pavement next to the main road and sell dry fruit. They dress traditionally and often have their children with them. Apart from the regular annoyances of pollution and congestion, they have other complaints to register as well.

"We have to face quite a lot of problems when we come here, such as harassment and verbal abuse, but we are helpless as we have to feed ourselves and our children at the end of the day," comments Bano, a middle-aged Bengali woman

These roadside ventures are not very secure, "we were told to move last year but the matter died down for some reason and no such orders have been passed yet," says Bano. She adds that they don't have to pay rent which makes it easier to do business as the earnings are very low and they cannot afford to pay a high rent at all.

Empress Market today is facing many problems, being in the main city, it has become a victim of noise, traffic, polluted surroundings, congestion, lack of law-regulatory forces, load shedding, declining turnover, increasing rate of crime, and those are just a few of the problems the market faces.

All these hurdles can be overcome though, if shop keepers and the authorities agree to work kinks out together. The shop keepers need assurance that even if they are displaced, they will be relocated to a place where they will be able to carry out business as usual. The authorities need cooperation from shop keepers if and when they carry their grand plans out. In all of this, the Empress Market stands wizened and handsome, accommodating people who rely on it to make a living.

The decisions taken on November 3 and the chain of events that followed them will go down in Pakistan's history as a bleak time. Most segments of civil society remained passive in face of the emergency, with university campuses throughout Sindh providing a silent, inert backdrop to the drama unfolding before the nation.

Lip service is not a new phenomenon but it is one that is normally attributed to politicians and policy makers. After the declaration of emergency though, statement-happy non-governmental organization members also joined ranks with politicians, securely fighting their end of the war from the confines of familiar four walls.

Sindh has a history of people rising up against those who worked against their interests. In all the struggles that a post-independence Sindh faced, educational institutions in the region played a rather pivotal role in movements against autocratic rulers and social injustices. However, during recent weeks which have been extremely critical for Pakistan, not a single demonstration or protest meeting was held in any college or university campus in interior Sindh.

The University of Sindh at Jamshoro, Chandka Medical College, Peoples Medical College Nawabshah, Quaid-e-Awan University Nawabshah, Sindh Agriculture University, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences and Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, were all missing from the scene, which was a disappointing surprise.

These campuses have been famous for revolutionary struggles, and student wings of various political parties are quite active on campus. Protests and demonstrations against university administration are quite common.

The student parties also protest when called on to by the senior wing of their party, and join in the protests held by the latter. However since the imposition of emergency, not a single protest has been held on any campus, giving off the impression that students today are terribly apathetic. Members of political parties and their student wings are trained to bravely and boldly take on any challenge. But somehow, despite being aware of the vigorous activism by their peers in Islamabad and Lahore, students in Sindh are strangely silent.

Political parties seemed reluctant to communicate the desire to stage protests against the imposition of emergency and curbs on the media and judiciary to their student wings; it seems that they did not want to display any anarchistic behavior. Teachers' associations and university unions as well as schools have kept mum on the issue of the emergency, not even calling an on-campus meeting to share and discuss their point of view with students. Only the University of Sindh Teacher's Association held a meeting to condemn the emergency after three weeks of silence, but that too behind closed doors.

One has to wonder why the Sindhi civil society remained so tight-lipped regarding the emergency till almost three weeks of its imposition, when the Joint Action Committee announced a black day on November 26 and arranged protest meetings inside the offices of different NGOs.

This is in spite of the fact that many civil society representatives have been affiliated with various political parties and unions, but seem unmotivated to express their opinion, representing an ostensibly apathetic society.

The ice of silence appeared to be melting when the Secretary Sindh Democratic Forum (SDF) announced a week after the emergency that civil society members will garnish flowers on the residence of deposed Judge Ghulam Rabbani, but only two dozen people gathered at the occasion. Civil society members belonging to different NGOs were absent once again.

Lawyers too restricted themselves to bar councils and court premises and registered their protest against removal of superior court judges while staying inside the court premises and have not lodged their protest as they did in post March 9 events.

Some political parties like Awami Tehreek (AT) took a scientific approach against the emergency and presented arrests of five of its activists on a regular basis for more than two weeks. Members of the women's wing of AT were also treated brutally while protesting against the emergency. Apart from that, component parties of APDM had a very poor show in Sindh during protests.

The people who most actively participated in Sindh's protest against the emergency were members of civil society belonging to the media. More than 20 members belonging to different newspapers and channels were picked up outside the Hyderabad Press Club while they peacefully protested curbs on media, and were detained under police custody for three hours, till orders of their release were issued. However the protest continues with hunger strikes and meetings demanding an end to restrictions on media

The Sindh media has played a role in mobilizing and launching the struggle for restoration of the constitution and democracy, and there is fresh hope that Pakistan's newly civilian President will encourage and support the civil society in being free-minded and aware.

Javed Khurd is a Balochi speaking fisherman living on the outskirts of Karachi, in Mubarak Village which was named after his grandfather. It is a small rural community consisting of fisherman. He likes living in Mubarak Village as the place is quiet, unlike the city, yet is still a part of it. Although Mubarak Village is underdeveloped, and Javed is the only member of his family who regulary commutes to the city, he does not want to move to the city as his ancestors belonged to the village, and he cant see himself surviving the city life for more than a few hours.

Kolachi: What is your full name?

Javed: My name is Javed Khurd. I picked the name Khurd myself, as I don't know what my real surname is.

Kolachi: Are you educated?

Javed: I have studied till the 10th grade.

Kolachi: Why didn't you continue your education?

Javed: All my relatives have studied till the 10th grade. There are no schools here for further education and if I go to the city I might not come back, I might do something else.

Kolachi: What else would you want to do?

Javed: I never wanted to be a fisherman; I wanted to be part of the media. But now I don't think there is anything I can do about it, this is what fate had in store for me.

Kolachi: How long have you been living here?

Javed: This village belongs to my grandfather. His name was Mubarak. I have lived here all my life.

Kolachi: Don't you want to live in the city?

Javed: Living in Karachi has its perks. Over here we don't have water, electricity, roads or transport, but we have peace of mind. That is the biggest thing at the end of the day. So why would I want to give that up and move to the city. Besides, I live like a king here and I don't like the city lifestyle. I'm not built to survive in the city, none of us are.

Kolachi: What do you do for a living?

Javed: I am a fisherman and boat in-charge.

Kolachi: What does a boat in-charge do?

Javed: I rent out boats to people who come here to fish.

Kolachi: Have you visited Karachi?

Javed: Yes I have. In fact I am the only person in this village who has seen Karachi.

Kolachi: Do you like Karachi?

Javed: As I said the city has its perks. Getting a job there isn't so difficult either. Life is simple in a lot of ways and very fast paced. The city people are strange. It's a good place but even those who want to have a peaceful time come here. So I think Mubarak Village is the best.

Kolachi: How do you commute to the city?

Javed: I usually take the eight o' clock bus into the city.

Kolachi: How do you run the house if there are no shops here?

Javed: I get my monthly ration from the city.

Kolachi: How do you deal with the monsoon season?

Javed: the monsoon season is really bad. I make nets, but have no income. Sometimes I am forced to beg, for there is no alternative.

Kolachi: What happens when there are storms?

Javed: That doesn't bother me. I've lived with the sea all my life. I don't think it will ever harm us. We do not have the finances to build concrete houses, and there wasn't a lot of destruction during the last monsoon season. The tides get higher but there is nothing to be afraid of. I actually enjoy the weather then.

Kolachi: Don't you want basic utilities in your village?

Javed: Yes I do. I have done all I could, but nobody takes any action. They actually want us to leave this place, which is why we are not getting any attention. Hence we keep on living like this.

Kolachi: Are you affected by the politics in Pakistan at all?

Javed: I plan to vote, if my vote brings about a better change I will vote. There are a lot of people coming in and telling us whom to vote for, they even hoist their flags here but that doesn't really make us change our minds. I am just hoping this time whoever is elected will pay some attention to us too.

Strong in his beliefs and hoping for a better tomorrow, Javed wishes the authorities would pay some attention to Karachi as a whole and its adjoining areas that have been neglected for decades. He does all that he can to keep his family that is spread all over the village, together. Even when he has no income he doesn't leave his family behind and move to the city. He doesn't mind begging out of desperation, for there is nothing else that he can do in that village. Trying to make a living when all odds are against him, such is this Karachi character. – Photo by the writer