People enjoying the day at a beach in Karachi.
When in Pakistan, do as the Pakistanis do. Decoding
our culture is difficult due to the diversity Pakistanis are blessed
with. You’ll always meet people here with a story; they all have a story
to tell. And so do I.
After having breakfast and reading the Smoker’s Corner on Sunday, I went to a butcher shop.
Traditional butcher shops are not a place to visit for the
fainthearted in Karachi. They have an acquired smell, resulting from
carcasses of goats hanging right above the butcher’s counter and an even
row of chickens lined across, with feathers plucked and skin removed.
The sections are divided into three: mutton, beef and chicken. The
butchers wear bloodstained shirts while they work methodically.
A butcher cuts meat in his shop while posing for the camera.
I’m offered a cup of tea by a gentleman whose hands are covered with
dried blood. I don’t drink tea so I politely decline the offer. While
waiting for our meat to get portioned, I speak to the shop owner’s son.
He’s a few years older than I am. I ask him about the meat purchasing
process and he gladly responds.
Breeders from all over Sindh bring their cattle to the
mandi (wholesale market). This
mandi
gives breeders the opportunity to showcase their product. The buyers
visit this market and make the purchase. He said that the meat provided
at his shop was of superior quality; I didn’t doubt him as we were one
of his regulars.
A large number of animals seen at cattle market near super highway.
He spoke to me about his passion for meat. The prerequisite of being a
Pakistani is an unhealthy obsession with meat. He fulfilled the
criteria and now he’s in the business. He told me that people in Karachi love their food
which is why they still come to a traditional butcher shop and
carefully select the cuts of meat they want. He told me that this is
part of our culture. I expressed my concern as I told him that many
people nowadays want a streamlined process. They don’t want to know
where their meat came from or what the quality is like. However, that
did not stop him from delivering the best quality of meat possible. He
said that there are people out there who will never settle for frozen
chicken in a packet.
After the butcher’s, I went to the
sabzi wala (vegetable shop). My
sabzi wala
has an active sense of humour which never fails to entertain but he had
many concerns with how things were in recent times. We spoke about the
types of garlic in the market. Usually they keep desi garlic and one
other variety that comes from China. I told him about the crisis India’s facing due to the shortage of onions. I asked him if we should be afraid too.
He laughed and informed me that most of the onions in Pakistan come
from Balochistan and the quantity is high this season. He was upset with
tomatoes that Pakistan
imported from India though. He proudly said the Pakistani tomato is far
more superior in taste. He said he hated giving away a product that
he wasn’t happy with.
Shopkeepers selling vegetables in Empress Market Karachi.
I went to the barber next. I had to wait as, on a Sunday, barber
shops are usually packed. I spoke to my barber about the meaning of life
and he responded accordingly. He told me that Quaid-e-Azam rules
Pakistan. I asked him to further explain and he said, “The only remains
of him are on our currency. Money rules Pakistan.” Before we branched
out to politics and conspiracy theories, a seat was free. On Sunday, the
barber to seat ratio is high.
A barber is like a best friend, once you find a good one, you stick to them.
I explained the type of haircut I wanted and he understood.
Consider yourself blessed if your barber understands and delivers.
A barber is like a best friend, once you find a good one, you stick to
them. My barber was passionate. He made sure that I was pleased with the
outcome and he didn’t disappoint. You find people loving what they do
everywhere; usually in places where we never look.
Chaotic as it may seem, Karachi is home. Karachi is a place to learn.
Karachi is passionate. Falling in love with this city and its people is
unavoidable. And like most love stories, your heart will be broken but
that doesn’t stop you from loving.
There are two ways of performing the ritual, first, each earning person slaughters a smaller animal like a goat or sheep or a number of people pool in and sacrifice a bigger animal like a cow, bull, buffalo or camel. The later appears a more practical and viable option in present day scenario.
