A Subcontinent within a City
I have always been curious about different peoples: who they are, where they come from, the languages they speak, the clothes they wear, the food they eat, what their beliefs are, the varied customs and traditions they observe, and what they do for a living. This book is a study of — and a tribute to — that diverse mix of people who inhabit Karachi.
Having been born in Karachi in the early fifties, I have lived in this city practically all my life. I am a Karachiwali too! Over the last fifty years here in this city, I have come across people belonging to many cultures, and communities, and having different lifestyles. Some of this I have been able to encapsulate in this book. I have met these people face to face, in their homes, in their own environments. I have become acquainted with their origins, their daily routines, their formal education (or the lack of it), their professions, their traditional wisdom, their rituals.
Over the past year, I have met over sixty families, groups, and individuals of varied ethnicities, religions, and professions. Through this compilation of profiles, a distinct picture of a multi-faceted, constantly changing and growing city has emerged. Those who have chosen to come and settle in this city have been influenced by it. They, in turn, have influenced the evolving character of Karachi.
I was never convinced, nor comfortable with the overly simplified version of the four ethnicities from the four provinces of the country, that was presented to me since my school days. I could sense, even then, that this was not the whole truth. It was done out of political expediency. But has it worked? We all know the answer to that.
Some years ago, for the first ‘Lifestyles’ supplement of Dawn, I wrote about the lifestyles of three families belonging to three different communities. I loved the experience of conducting interviews and photographing those seemingly ‘ordinary’ people. It was then that the idea for this book began to take root, and I became convinced that it would be wonderful to document this rich diversity by studying the past and present of the people who make up Karachi.
The design and layout of the book was undertaken by a young artist/architect/writer, Asma Husain. She took up the challenge to give my interviews, research, and photographs a structure and shape. Through uniquely customized maps that trace histories or daily routines, family trees that reveal complicated relationships, and diagrams that show layers of information, my own understanding of the city has been enhanced.
My research has given me opportunities and reasons to sit on the floor of a family’s dwelling in Landhi and discuss their weekly visits to a zinda pir; to sip tea with the ‘untouchables’ in E.I. Lines and learn about creating a Bhagwan chakr with lipstick; to listen attentively to a jogi’s claim of a cobra living for one hundred years without contradicting him; to be in awe of the fine embroidery of a Punj Sufi shroud, while imbibing the customs and rituals of a Sindhi family living in Parsi Colony; to lend my ears to four young boys who live on the streets and represent a community numbering thousands; to trace the ancestry of a Chinese restaurateur whose father and grandfather traversed the famous old Silk Route; to marvel at the frank and candid views expressed by a Khwajasara who declares that theirs is the only group that is non-exclusive and welcomes all races, religions, ethnicities and backgrounds into its fold; to wonder at the conviction for endogamy within several communities; and to lament the loss of languages neither spoken nor written any longer by the new generation, be it Tamil, Konkani, Persian, Bengali, Gujarati, or Chinese.
I am amazed by the commonalities between the different individuals and the communities they belong to. Equally astounding are their differences: how the dead cannot be buried without wearing a burial ring customarily placed upon the forefinger; how a collection of auspicious symbols must be kept in a tray for all times; how some colourless lives have been made truly colourful with vibrant clothing; how some mothers and grandmothers are happy to be photographed, but their sons and daughters refuse; how in the face of constant harassment, beatings, arrests or even threats to their lives, certain individuals have carried on fighting for their cause. The list can go on and on.
With the creation of Pakistan in 1947, Karachi not only became the first capital of the new country, but it also became its economic hub. It was the primary destination for the mass of Muslim immigrants who crossed the border into Pakistan. The population of Karachi shot up from around 450,000 in 1947 to well over a million by 1951. A massive influx of Muslim migrants from the United Provinces, the Central Provinces, Gujarat, Kathiawar, Delhi and Hyderabad (Deccan) settled in the urban centres of Sindh, especially in Karachi and Hyderabad. According to the 1998 census, an estimated 96 percent of the population is Muslim, 2.02 percent is Hindu, 1.69 percent is Christian, and the remaining 0.35 percent includes Ahmadis, Bahais, Sikhs, and Zoroastrians (also known as Parsis).
Over the years, additional waves of immigrants from other areas of Pakistan, particularly Pathans and Punjabis, also arrived and settled in Karachi due to the unique commercial opportunities afforded by the city. The Biharis from East Pakistan following the creation of Bangladesh, and the Afghans fleeing Afghanistan following the Soviet invasion of 1979, further swelled these numbers. Today, the population of Karachi is more than 18 million, and growing.
Notwithstanding the population boom due to independence-related and post-independence immigration, various pre-1947 inhabitants of the city such as the coastal fishing and mercantile communities, the Sindhis, the Baloch, Hindus, Parsis and Christians continue to reside in the city. There are even a number of Chinese who have lived in Karachi for generations. Many of them run restaurants or are engaged in professions such as dentistry or acupuncture. There are also distinct layers within many communities. For example, the Christian community not only comprises Roman Catholics, Anglicans and other Protestants, but in turn each group is further segmented into Anglo-Indians, Tamil-speaking South Indians, and Portuguese-influenced Goans (from Goa, India). Perhaps there are noJews living in Pakistanany more, but at one time Karachi used to have a vibrant Jewish population too.
Karachi is the provincial capital of Sindh, and is also the biggest city of Pakistan—an urban sprawl covering an area of 3,527 square kilometres. It is surrounded by the districts of Dadu and Thatta in the north-east and the south-east, the Arabian Sea to the south and the Lasbela District of Balochistan to the west. The old centre of Karachi is dotted with handsome buildings, most of them public buildings or places of worship. Many of these have been lost forever due to negligence, indifference, and often ineffective heritage laws that have failed to protect them.
The presence and contribution of people of different backgrounds makes Karachi arguably Pakistan’s most cosmopolitan city, the only real microcosm of the whole country. These people retain distinct lifestyle characteristics, although they have blended in and borrowed from each other, and in the process have begun to forge a new identity as citizens of Karachi. Documenting and understanding their origins and their present lifestyle is therefore essential.
Moreover, the ‘Partition generation’ is in its twilight years. With their passing will be lost much first-hand knowledge of everyday customs, dress, food, religious rituals, etc. I therefore made a special effort to meet and to probe the memories of the elders in each family while developing my profiles.
I discovered many layers and overlaps within each profile. Slotting them into categories or groups was not simple, or easy. Having traversed the city, crisscrossing it somewhat randomly, I invite the reader to make a similar journey to meet these interesting, colourful people of varied backgrounds. Each family, group or individual has a rich story to tell. Sometimes there is an additional history or a legend associated with a profile.
One can only make estimations about the future. However, it will be interesting to note the result over a time period of the interaction of people in this melting pot, and that with the city they call home. If only we can learn to respect and appreciate the diversity present within us, relate with, and take pride in it, we can yet become a more plural, more tolerant and easygoing society.
Rumana Husain |
