Karachi: Beach and Fishing

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Karachi: Beach and Fishing

Abu Bakr Sheikh


The shores of fresh water or noisy waters helped life flourish wherever it went. If it weren't for the ocean, maybe nothing would have happened. The ocean is like a god who only knows how to give. Clouds, rains and glaciers are all because of the sea. It is a matter of nature. The sea clouds. It rains, glaciers bring water, and freshwater rivers flow.

The great civilizations of the world are born along these rivers. That is why the shores are so important that if there were no shores, there would be no ports, no human beings could meet each other, and a vast world of trade would not exist. But we humans have not done well with the blessings bestowed upon us, especially with the sea. He gives us water and food and in return we are polluting his blue water every day. Although this article is about the good days of Karachi, but it also awakens and sleeps day and night.

Manora Lighthouse can be seen in the background of Karachi port in the 1890s

Ibrahim Haidari

A settlement in Karachi in 1897



We have mentioned in our previous article on Malir Valley on the subject of Karachi, the research report of Prof. Abdul Rauf Khan, who found traces of pre-Christian settlements in the vicinity of Karachi. When we mention these settlements, we also mention the freshwater rain gutters (passages) and the coast south and west of Karachi.

HT Lambrick calls the area an "Alexandrian paradise". A study of Erin's writings suggests that this is the area between Rehri Mian and Kemari. Since at one time the Estuary of Malir New was the last creek, and in 521 BC, when the Greek tourists 'Sky Lakes' came to study the Indus, a tremendous flow of the Indus flowed in the southeast. Ibrahim used to fall into the sea near Haidari.

A view of a Karachi settlement in 1897

A view of a Karachi settlement in 1897

A view of a Karachi settlement in 1897


If we go back to the time of BC, we hear a folk tale in the Soomra period (1011 to 1351), in which for the first time we get to see a complete scenario of 'Kalachi' or 'Karachi'.

It also shows the abundance of fish, the intelligence of the fisherman, the evidence of fishing far and wide, and the abundance of hunting methods and hunting equipment. Let me tell you a little about that folk tale. The name of this story is 'Morro and Mangar Machh', if we listen to this story with our ears, it is a wonderful story of historical heritage.

In the time of Raja Delora (wherever I have been in Sindh, the king of the ruins of Ajra cities has always found this king named Delora. Whether you go to Brahmanabad, go to Sehwan Sharif or somewhere else, you will find a tyrant king). Ga and his tyranny would have ruined that town and the king's name would have been Delora!) There was a fisherman named 'Obhavio' in Son Miani (Balochistan) who had 7 sons. Morro was the youngest of them and was crippled in one leg but intelligent.

One day 6 of his brothers went out for hunting from Son Miani and came to Kalachi Jo Kun (deep and wide vortex). The locals forbade that hunting can be very dangerous here, as the water whirlpools are also dangerous and there is also the mangrove (manger is called the big whale shark) which is bloodthirsty. But they did not listen. As soon as the net was thrown into the water, his boat capsized in some bridges and the manger took his bite.

When Morro found out that his brother had been eaten by a shark like this, he used his intelligence to build a cage and sit in it himself, informing the people of his entire plan and when. To do The cage was thrown into the water. The fish swallowed the cage and got stuck in its throat. In this way, the manger was pulled out of the water by ropes and the stomach of the fish was slit and Morro and his brothers were pulled out. The brothers had died, but Morro was alive. After burying his brothers, Morro sat on the graves of his brothers as long as he lived. If you go from Kharadar to Maripur, you can see the graves of these brothers at Gul Bai Chowk.

Graves of Morro's brothers


If you ever cross the 'NATO Jetty' bridge, where nowadays you get pellets of flour to feed the fish and red lungs to feed the disciples, then keep in mind that you Moving from the sea to the island after land. Although there are not many islands around Karachi, there are several islands on which the city of Karachi resides.

Altaf Sheikh writes in this regard: 'Those who go to Kemari or Manohra would not have thought that not only Manohra but also Kemari is an island which is currently connected to Karachi via the NATO Jetty Bridge. At one time it was also an island like Manohra and people used to come to Kemari by boat from Kharadar.

Just like today there are Baba, Bhatt, Pir Shams and other islands. These islands have been inhabited by fishing settlements for centuries. So if we say that there are still hundreds of fishing settlements on the shores and islands from Malir to Manohra in Karachi, it would be like a water coin.

 

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Currently, millions of people are involved in the fishing industry. If you go to fishing settlements, such as Rehri Mian, Ibrahim Haideri, Gujri, Kharadar, Baba Island and many more, you will realize how much the sea, fish and fishing flow in their blood. Everything they say ends with fishing.


Manohra beach

Ibrahim Haidari

Karachi Fishermen's Settlement (1897)

View of an area of Karachi in 1897

They call the sea the river. This river is their source of livelihood. He loves the mornings, evenings, moons, waves, summers and winters here. The lamp of respect for the river also burns in their hearts and minds. We have a collection of information about these fishing settlements in the form of 'Gazetteers' of the last 150 to 200 years. I also have some pictures of fishing settlements that are just as old. There are also some sketches that you can see to see what Karachi and its inhabitants were like in those days.

An area of Karachi in 1857

Kharadar in the old days

A village near the port of Karachi in 1851

View of Karachi port from Clifton

 

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According to the Sindh Gazetteer, the coastline between Manohra and Clifton is approximately 3 and a half miles long. Next to it is Kemari Island which is at some distance at the end. The 'Mall Bridge' provides a wide route from Kemari to the Customs House and the old city of Karachi. This bridge was built near the old monkey to allow the water of Chhini Khari to enter the port without any hindrance. It is 1,200 feet long and was built in 1865 at a cost of Rs. 475,000.


Napier Mall Bridge to Kemari

It is now known as the Napier Square Cone Bridge. At the northern end of the bridge and west of the port is the NATO Jetty Bridge, which was built at a cost of Rs. 433,000. At the end of Mall Road is the Customs House. There are two routes from the Customs House to Karachi Cantonment. One of them is Bandar Road which is two and a half miles long and ends at the depots while the other is McLeod Road. Both of these routes lead to what is commonly called a 'camp'. To the west of these routes are the Old Fish Market, the Old City, the Monkey Market and the Napier Quarters.


Old Custom House in Kemari

A view of a fishing village in 1897

Fish Middle Camp in 1897

Fishmouth settlement in 1897

Sindh Gazetteer calls Karachi a city of fishermen. There is probably nothing wrong with that because agriculture was just a name here, there were orchards on the east side of Malir and a few vegetables were grown on the banks of Lyari in the north which was enough to meet the food needs of the locals. ۔

The beach was not as filthy as it is today, but in those days this beach in Karachi shone like white silver in the hot sun. There were lots of fish. There was a dense forest of tamar along with it and the locals also used to hunt birds. Imagine for a second you were transposed into the karmic driven world of Earl. There are large settlements of fishermen. No car noise and no boat engine noise. Sailing boats travel long distances.

If you want to see and feel the days and nights of Karachi, visit Baba or Bhatt Island. I have been there There is no traffic noise and the islands are not sunny in May or June. You may not be able to imagine the nights and cool sea breezes there. There are nooks and crannies in these settlements at night. People meet They drink tea and gossip. Then they fall asleep early. At 4 o'clock in the night, the streets of these islands begin to bustle, which is the best time to go hunting at sea. The message of the end of the night on these islands is the chirping of roosters and the chirping of birds. Then comes the call to prayer from the mosque.

Manohra Fort

EW Hughes writes, “Fishing in Sindh is done only by Muslim mahanas (fishermen or sailors), the majority of whom live in Karachi. The amount of fish caught off the coast of Sindh is very high. Dr. FD lists 160 species of these fish, as well as an abundance of tuna fish and oily fish.

From here, shark fins are shipped in large quantities to Bombay and then to China, where they are in high demand. In addition, fat is obtained by hunting large sharks, which have a large market abroad. Fish and prawns are dried here and sent to Bombay, and they have a good domestic market.

In the days of the Talpur rule, sea fishing was contracted, earning an annual income of Rs 4,000 to Rs 7,000. The tariffs imposed on these fishermen were very complex and high. Complexly, there was a difference in the tax levied on fish caught from the island of Manora and other fishing nets (a special place for fishing on the beach was called a 'Miani', now called a jetty).

"One-sixth of the fish caught from Manora was taken as prey while one-fourth was taken from others," he said. In addition, 5 fish were taken from the fishing boat as amlana. (The fish that the members of the revenue collection team received from the middle was called amlana)

"Fish sent from Karachi to other places was taxed at 6.5 to 7.5 feet," he said. This type of taxation system remained in place until 1845. The fishing boats were then ranked. They were divided into small, large and appropriate sizes and licenses were issued for a separate fee.

Mr McLeod, the then Deputy Collector of Customs, suggested that an annual contract system be introduced for fishing. The proposal was accepted and in 1852 the contract was auctioned for Rs. 5,250. This contracting system lasted for 5 years till 1857 and then it was canceled and the license was issued according to the size and weight of the boats.

For additional information, I am giving the details of this 5 year tax which is related to Karachi Fisheries.

From 1870 to 1874, a revenue of Rs. 1,762 was collected from the ghats of Karachi Tehsil
From 1870 to 1874, revenue of Rs. 14,101 was collected from the middlemen of Karachi Tehsil
If we look at the record of 1837, this year, dried fish, shark fins and fish oil were sent from here to Bombay, which brought in 30,000 rupees. Even today, do it annually.

 

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Hydaspes' Lightbox​

Miani Hor (Lagoon) ... Area around 60x5 km
River Purali and Windor empty in it.
Location: Around 100 km West of Karachi, Uthal / Lasbela.....

 

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