How my experience of Diwali in Karachi took me to a city I never knew....
FAROOQ SOOMRO
Karachi is often termed as a dull city, sometimes even dangerous. In a city of 20 odd million, there is a dearth of public spaces and limited avenues for cultural activities.
The much praised diversity has also come under scrutiny, with minorities migrating to greener pastures abroad and those staying back choosing to remain discreet.
The uncertain security situation restricts religious festivities of non-Muslims as well as the nurturing of our communities' collective imagination. Festivals come and go but they don’t manage to make headlines for the right reasons.
But anyone who has lived in Karachi for some time would know that the city opens up to its denizen gradually. There are pockets across the city that light up annually with festivities, religious and cultural, showing a fascinating side of the place that doesn't make the news.
Last week, my friend visiting from London asked me if I had any plans for Diwali.
I suggested we visit the Shri Swaminarayan temple, the biggest remaining Hindu temple in Karachi.
The communal area in front of the temple was crowded by the time we stepped out.
Diwali, the festival of lights, symbolises the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, knowledge over ignorance.
It dates back to ancient times, marking the summer harvest in the Hindu calendar month of Kartika. Diwali celebrations last for five days and it is one of the most important festivals in the Hindu calendar.
As we drove towards Bunder road, I got a call from a novelist friend who was in the vicinity and wanted to come along too.
I told him to reach the temple directly and keep his hazard lights on. As I looked for his car on Bunder road, I could not help but notice a sizeable presence of police and Rangers outside the temple.
We formed into a group, seven curious souls, mostly Muslims, attracted by the lure of the unknown and the unexpected.
The main temple was garlanded with lights and flowers.
The entrance to the temple is through an arch which was crowded by the time we reached. Its central location, ample parking and large courtyard makes Shri Swaminarayan an ideal location for such events.
The festivities were in full swing by the time we got inside the compound. A poster near the entrance commemorated the victims of the recent terrorist attack on the police academy in Quetta.
We followed the crowd and soon found ourselves in front of the 200-year-old temple which was garlanded with lights and flowers.
People were dressed in different hues of red, yellow and saffron, as they queued up to pray inside the temple.
Outside the main temple, children were lighting up firecrackers, some of them loud, leaving a colourful trail in the night sky.
We stayed there for a bit, fighting for space as more people joined the party and more firecrackers went off.
Children looking at the fireworks from the main temple.
We reassembled at the main gate and decided to take a walk through the neighbourhood to look for Rangoli — the colourful patterns created on the floor with sand, rice or flower petals.
The houses in the temple’s neighbourhood were decorated with fairy lights and clay lamps. The firecrackers went on continuously. As we walked ahead to find a quiet spot, we noticed Rangoli outside several houses.
On the evening of Diwali, people light up clay lamps, make Rangoli and pray to Lakshmi — the goddess of wealth and prosperity.
According to their belief, Lakshmi visits people’s home and bestows blessings upon them.
A young man busy creating a colourful design in one of the streets behind Shri Swaminarayan.