Kharadar- A place of great contrast

It was a place of great contrasts. One on side there were towering buildings, reeking of history and dilapidated, unkempt communities on the other. The residents did not seem to pay attention to a bunch of teenagers with cameras around their necks, perhaps because they were accustomed to this practice. ‘Kharadar’ is one of the oldest places in Karachi, its architecture as old as the days when British ruled the subcontinent. A place of such immense importance was sure to present something positive about Karachi, no?

We passed a constricted alley on our way in, which looked dull and drab, justly reflecting the poverty of its inhabitants. It appeared mysteriously interesting and hence we decided to explore it further.

The setting was miserable. The houses exuded the plight of the poor people living there. At the entrance of the house an elderly woman, with chocolate brown skin and modest clothing, sat with her two attractive daughters playing nearby. The older one was engrossed in decorating her bicycle with colourful tapes while the younger one was talking to herself. They both had their long oily hair tied up in pigtails. The house appeared dark on the inside and the paint was peeling off the walls.

The woman appeared intimidating at first, but her posture eased when we told her the purpose of our visit. The conversation started with her name, Daya. She had a tattoo on her wrist of her husband’s initials, K. S. (KaliyaanSanu).

She revealed that she was a Shia by sect and often went to their religious ‘dargah’. Once she and her husband had walked all the way, with her eldest daughter in a bag on her back.

‘Choti’, as she called her eldest daughter, went to a government school in their locality and was a student of grade 1. On asking what she aspired to be when she grows up, Choti answered with a shy smile playing on her lips, ‘mujhe teacher banna hai. Mein baray hokay apni English teacher jaise teacher banungi. Woh mujhe bohat achi lagti hain’. (I want to be a teacher when I grow up. Just like my English teacher. I really like her). It was pleasing to hear that she even read books and her mother told us about how bright a student she was. The mother revealed their financial position to us and said, ‘Hum bohat ghareeb log hain. Mere aur mere aadmi ka bas yehi khwahish hai ke humari bachian par likh kar tarrakee karein’. (We are very poor people, but we send our girls to school because we wish to see them educated and successful in future).

It was overwhelming to see that people of such a background and living in such places, uneducated and poor themselves, did not inflict any restrictions on their daughters (the bicycle was a proof of their freedom!) and dreamed of seeing their daughters successful. The couple seemed completely in love with their little girls and even posed for our cameras happily.

We continued with our exploration with a warm, positive feeling in our heart after bidding them farewell and wishing them very good luck for the future.