Karachi, Pakistan
03/01/2024
The next day was the day of Barat ceremony, which would take place later in the evening. This meant that we had the day to explore a little – and do some shopping. After getting some much needed sleep, we had breakfast and were soon on our way to Dolmen Mall Hyderi, an upmarket mall where I was hoping to buy some men’s fashion on the cheap.
The road took us across the many facets of Karachi again. From the pictures you’ll notice the many birds up in the air – in stark contrast to many European cities, where you’d occasionally see a bird of prey and otherwise only be annoyed by pigeons, the city was full of them. I figured this was because of easier access to food & food waste, but a quick ChatGPT search indicated that it is more complex than that:
- Abundant food from garbage, slaughterhouses, and fish markets attracts scavenger raptors.
- Open spaces and warm thermals make flying and hunting easy.
- Safe nesting sites on rooftops and towers with few natural threats.
- Cultural tolerance and religious practices support or protect birds like kites.
- Migratory flyway location brings seasonal raptor visitors through the city.
In any case, it wasn’t too long before we were at the mall, where the security guards – again armed with AKs – directed us into a parking spot and greeted us excitedly when they saw a bunch of Europeans step out of the car. And not just there we were an attraction. Picture us this way: 8 Europeans, of which 5 tall guys – with Michiel from Belgium towering 2 metres & getting stopped every 5 metres to take pictures – together with wonderful 3 girls, we totally stood out and did not fit the local scenery. And even if you go beyond looks, the cultural differences in behavioural patterns – such as Anna smoking a cigarette with the men, or the girls dancing with the guys during the festivities – created a curiosity in the bystanders. While this meant that there were always eyes on us, I want to stress that I did not perceive this as anything negative1. And with the Pakistanis being so hospitable, it even brought the occasional benefit that we were gifted something or received special treatment.
On a side note – a big thank you goes out to Michiel. Usually when travelling, people walk up to me to take pictures and I don’t get to explore undisturbed. But with Michiel being a giant, this was no issue in Pakistan, as he got all the attention & people wanting to take pictures with him. So if you read this, thank you, Michiel!
Once inside the mall – and inside the men’s outfitter “Cambridge” – I was desperately trying to find shirts and suits that fit my size, with the issue being that slim fit did not exist. See – either the suit jacket was way to tight at my shoulders but went around the waist nicely, or it was perfect at the shoulders but left enough room at the midsection level that I could have eaten Pakistani food for another month and still not have needed all that space. So to “solve” this issue, I bought 4 ties instead, each costing only a few euros2.
Then – and after taking pictures with a few more security guards – we were on our way back home to get ready for the ceremony, overtaking donkey-drawn carts and taking in the energy of the buzzing Karachi streets once more.
At home, the girls got their hands painted with Mehndi (henna), while Viktor & me squeezed in a quick workout in the yard, to the amused looks of the neighbouring kids. We then put on our Pakistani wedding outfits purchased the day before, snapped some pictures in the side alley of Maisam’s home and got ready to drive to the event location. What then happened was mind-blowing.
We had expected to be chauffeured by the same couple of limousines that had driven us around before. Instead, a massive, non TÜV-Süd-checked3 party bus stopped in front of the building to pick us up. With much of Maisam’s family and friends – young & old – getting on it. The spouses stepped inside a large, black Land Cruiser, and I got on the second, non flower-covered, Toyota.
It was a wonderful nightly drive through Karachi, the city buzzing with life. It took us a little over 30 minutes to get to the location & I will let the pictures convey the impressions.
Once there, the atmosphere was already impeccable. Many of the guests were already present and waiting for us. In addition, a drummer was going full on making tribal-like sounds to which the crowd – mostly men – were dancing.
We entered the huge flower-filled ceremonial hall on a carpet in the middle, being greeted by the bride’s family and receiving flower necklaces. You know, those Hawaii ones, but with actual, fresh flowers which smelled beautifully 🌺. As alluded to in the first Pakistan Post, the Barat ceremony serves as the official handover of the bride, hosted by her family.
The etablissement was wonderfully decorated and could have easily fit 600 people, though my best estimate is that about 200-350 guests were present that evening. After our arrival, the lights were dimmed and – much similar to a western wedding, Faiza was accompanied by her father to the front, where her husband Maisam received her. Then the party began, with everyone cheering.
Maisam and Faiza were situated on a throne / couch right in at the end of the carpet, overlooking the wedding society. There was a buffet in the side wings of the hall, though we were lucky enough to be considered guests of honour, right next to the throne, meaning we were served at our table. The selection included everything from meat through veggies, though with our European stomachs, no-one dared try the salad.
We spent hours there, eating, and making new friends4. Amongst others, I met Shabaz, a relative of Maisam and keen bird photographer, who invited us on a magical trip to the countryside, which I will report on in one of the upcoming posts.
Once the party at the ceremonial hall was coming to an end, it would of course continue at home. We took the party bus & SUVs back to Maisam’s home, where the drummer was getting the crowd hyped up.
Luckily for the party, there didn’t seem to be a curfew or similar in Karachi, so everyone could go all-out. This also meant – of course – fireworks! And not those TÜV-checked no-fun-German ones, but real, ride-or-die 50/50 hit-or-miss Pakistani ones.
About two thirds of them exploded right there on the ground, the other third was hand-launched – intentionally or not – towards the nearest power pole (with heaps of cables hanging everywhere). A personal favourite of mine was also the “missile attack”, where one rocket flew into the air, only to turn around in a parabolic curve to land on the neighbour’s roof and explode there. Needless to say, it was a lot of fun – from a bit of distance.
The celebrations continued inside until late in the night, when we went to bed to catch some sleep for a day full of exploring ahead.
کل ملتے ہيں!
1) Though to be transparent, it was significantly more pressure for the girls, since their behaviour patterns stood out from the local gender roles, while us men got away with men being men.
2) To be fair, at a mean monthly salary of 300 EUR, a 3 EUR tie proportionally would be like us spending 20-40 EUR on it. Salary data see: https://www.timedoctor.com/blog/average-salary-in-pakistan/
3) In Germany, TÜV Süd checks all road vehicles in regular intervals to ensure they conform to all norms. This means things from tires and breaks all the way to whether you have the appropriate sound of horn on the car or your exhaust is a little too loud. Needless to say, someone had built – or rather “modified” – the wedding bus in their garage.
4) Oxford comma used to clarify we did not eat our new friends.