Lyari : Cult and Junoon

Given an aerial view of Lyari, one shall call it a constellation of congested cement block buildings with narrow alleys and streets snaking in between.  Here in Lyari , every now and then you listen to stuttering rifles' rapid rattle  and more is the number of bullet holes than the blocks or bricks that make up a wall. Bullet, Barood and incessant police/paramilitary ops define what we call the routine that is rampant in Lyari. Common notion suggests that Lyari walas are inane riffraff with natal antipathy to the peace and peace loving people. Courtesy media, Lyari  is always painted as the heaven of gun-toting hoodlums and drug peddlers. No suave soul ever inquired what else lies in Lyari beyond bullet and barood. I agree, like all other neighborhoods, Lyari has its share of Black Sheep. Even if few Mafia outfits operate in Lyari that does not necessarily translates all one million Lyari fellas as hatemongers. All that has been propagated about Lyari is just a rhetoric reeking of aggrandized lies. Lyari in actuality is one of the oldest settlement of Karachi and its inhabitants are true to the core sons of  "Mai Kolachi". For the clarification of few who think Lyari is an of late suburban slum to Karachi, i shall inform that by 1890 population of Lyari was 24600. Its the town around which the tale of Karchi moves on. Its people are true to the core honest and well knit in social fabric. Bravado is to Lyari as lights are to Karachi. This is a land set in its own peculiar theme with multitude of the rituals and tales. 

If Karachi is an elegant Italian Suit , Lyari in comparison is a tattered jeans or a tie-dyed shirt : rough at shape but peculiar in its own beautiful way. I fell in love with Lyari after a reading a novel "Chakiwara mein Visal" by legendary satirist Muhammad Khalid Akhtar. Since then i conjured its fictitious image as "Timbuktu of Pakistan": unique and abundant with folkloric treasures but at the brink of extinction. All you people need to see it not thru the barrel of gun rather by the kaleidoscope of color and love, for you ll surely  be dazzled by the bright face of the moon.

You just pass by this ghetto en route the beach safaris and cast a glance filled with loathing and revulsion. Never you cared to venture across its densely populated stretch festooned with thousand tales of Passion and spirit in the face of tyranny and deprivations. Lyari never bowed down to  urban terrorists who are rampant all across Karachi under the guise of a political party. You thought  good for nothing inane rustics of them but they transcended to another realm of vigor and exuberance. Had a crush on boxing and they got crazy about Muhammad Ali even when he was Cassius Marcellus Clay. Long before the recent EPL frenzy in Pakistani youth, Lyari learned to play soccer from Europeans who frequented Karachi Port for trade. They locked horns and  they guided the ball to the post with their bare feet to the utter surprise of the Europeans who taught em the game. They derived their footballing inspirations from the lands as far as Brazil and Argentina as  the sporting heritage is a common heritage. From football to boxing to Donkey cart racing they play their heart out once it comes to the glory of the sport.
I find it a grand error with Plate tectonics, that Lyari lies close to Karachi and not to Rio de generio. Mini Brazil as we call it, Lyari has long been hailed for being the hotbed of Pakistani football scene. Football is ubiquitous phenomena all across Lyari streets and come football world cup, it turns to a frenzy unfathomable. In Lyari, narrow alleys grow more narrow to accommodate the passion of countless soccer maniacs and young footballer play their heart out under the lee of bullet riddles walls of Lyari. Streets ands alleys of Lyari are always beaming with footballers. Though dressed in shabby soccer gear and deprived of necessary paraphernalia, their passion knows no boundaries.  By gene and meme , football is something that runs down their veins. Their heart beat manifests itself the way they shake their legs for the love of the game.

 

Its said that there are three types of people who inhabit  Lyari : Aspiring footballers, Current footballers and retired footballers. Statement reveals it outright that passion is prerequisite to live in lyari. Lyari is home to 116 registered clubs and eight football stadiums. Moreover you pass any street any  alley and you ll find a league of  extraordinary footballers honing their game skills. Soccer romance grows more passionate with the arrival of the Fifa World Cup. Streets and roundabouts get ablaze with Projectors showing live telecasts. At Every roundabout gathering, one finds  five to six hundred soccer buffs  hooting , jeering and jingle singing in favor of the teams they support. During the World Cup days if you get a chance to catch an aerial view of Lyari you ll see the beautiful melange of flags of various football nations. Love for Brazil is evident as majority of the fans are seen with Yellow Jersey on and Lyari presents the view as if a mustard field at its epic bloom. There hold their breaths once Ronaldo makes an attempt at the post or Messi dodges the ball. 

Love for Brazil is beautifully justified by a fellow blogger as she finds Lyari walas as spiritual cousins of brazilians. Moreover their physical features such as dark complexion and curly hair approves of the spiritual connection. Football World Cup for in Lyari is celebrated with the same zeal and romanticism as Carnival of Rio. Lyari boasts being the football nursery for Pakistani national football scene and it has contributed legendary players such as Abdul Ghafoor Baloch (Pele of Pakistan) , Umer Baloch and Ali Nawaz Baloch. Pakistan football team that won the Gold Medal at the 2004 South Asian Federation (SAF) Games included a number of players from Lyari. Such prolific footballers are testament to the sporting fertility of Lyari town. It makes dead sure if ever there would be a street soccer World Cup Lyari will come up as tough nut for their spiritual cousins of Rio. Besides football lyari adds more colors to the sporting canvas of Pakistan by excelling in boxing and cycling sport. Lyari houses Young Baloch Boxing Club with posters of Muhammad Ali Clay on its walls. Military and some other sponsor youth for boxing so they can train well to make a mark at national and international boxing scene. Lyari produced invincible boxers such as  Jan Muhammad Baloch and Muhammed Hussain. 

Jan Muhammad Baloch  won the gold medal at the Hilali Cup in Colombo, a bronze medal at the Tehran Asian Games (1974), followed by regaining the gold-winning streak at the first RCD Boxing Championship in Ankara. He also served as a Pakistan national team coach for two terms.

Trans-Lyari Boxing Club coach Abdul Majeed Brohi trains young lyari childerns of lyari lest they fell for crimes or drugs. He said that as a coach, an important lesson that he needs to share is for these children to ensure the fight remains inside the ring and not spilt onto the streets. 

Moving on to the cultural facets of Lyari you will find it balochi in essence with some astonishing resemblances to African/Arabic rituals.  Balochi "Liva" dance which is thought to be of Arabic origion  is very popular in lyari. Watching "Leva" is a life time experience as they dancers get dressed in a traditional tribal gear with their faces painted and feathers put on the head like a crown.

Glimpses from Lyari Saga:

                         

                                Ronaq-e-Islam School : Enchanting piece of architecture

                                                             Balcony of a Colonial era building

                                                          Lyari in early years of 20th Century

A certificate showing appreciation for the services of Zulekha Bibi – a resident of Lyari overlooked arrangements for the burial of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan. – Photo courtesy Ayoub Baloch

 Continued..............

Gallabaan