No Eid without a colourful cummerbund

“It is a part of our rural culture and Eid without a colourful cummerbund is incomplete.”


Sarfaraz Memon August 28, 2010

SUKKUR: For Ghulam Yasin Lakho, the most attractive stall in Juma Bazaar is the one selling bright, colourful cummerbunds in various sizes.

“It is a part of our rural culture and Eid without a colourful cummerbund is incomplete,” he claims proudly. He sifts through the variety on display and finally settles for one.

“Our women mostly use the red cummerbund while men use them in different colours,” he explained, pointing to his choice.

A walk through the narrow lanes between the makeshifts shops in Juma Bazaar on Station Road, near Ayub Gate in Sukkur, is a delight to the eyes and ears.

Echoes of “har maal dus rupaya main; honton ki lali dus rupaya, kanon ki bali dus rupaya, sab dus rupaya [everything for Rs10 only: lipstick, earrings, everything]” resonate the tent as I pass by Zafar Ali’s stall.

He is selling cosmetics, jewellery, bangles, hairclips, creams, powders and many other items at his small shop. “I sell everything for Rs10 only,” he said, elaborating, “My shop is for the poor, who cannot afford to go to big bazaars and shopping malls.  They come here and buy as many things for Rs10 only,” he boasted.

A teenaged customer at Ali’s stall, Nasima, came to Juma Bazaar to buy some jewellery, cosmetics and hairclips for Eid. “We can get everything for Rs10 here and this bazaar is no less than a blessing for us,” she says.

Other customers displayed their purchases for me. “I have bought a lipstick, face powder and a cone of henna,” said Rehana, as she hurried towards to crockery stall.

There is a bargaining game going on at Bashir Ahmed’s shop where a large number of women are gathered to buy readymade children’s clothes. “I want to buy this boy suit but he is charging me Rs100 for it,” explained Noor Jehan.

Bashir Ahmed is quick to intervene, “What else can you purchase for Rs100 at this time of inflation?” Most of the suits at his shop range between Rs50 and Rs100.

Noor Jehan was adamant and perhaps Ahmed knew she wouldn’t give up because when she handed him Rs80, he put her suit in a bag and gave it to her.

A woman in her mid-40s saw the haggle and realised that Ahmed was easy to bargain with. “I will buy three suits so give me a special discount,” she suggested and surprisingly Ahmed agreed.

A customer at a utensils stall, Mubeena Mangi, complained that the shopkeeper, Qamar Alam, was charging too much for a frying pan but he denied the allegation. “Look at the inflation around you, it is not our fault,” he defended himself. Alam is selling aluminium utensils for Rs250 to Rs300 per kilogramme (kg) while the same items are sold for up to Rs450 per kg in bigger markets.

Ashfaq Ali was selling school and travel bags but his shop wore a deserted look. “My sales vary between Rs5,500 to Rs7,000 on most Fridays but today I have not earned more than Rs1,000,” he said. A school bag sells for somewhere between Rs50 and Rs200 while a travel bag fetches between Rs200 and Rs350.

Mai Kariman has come from Jacobabad and is currently living in Sukkur with her relatives. She came to Juma Bazaar to buy some clothes for her daughter. “I have bought four suits for Rs150 each,” she said.

In the mean time, a barefoot girl forced her mother towards the cloth shop. She wanted to buy a lawn suit but her mother whisked her away, saying, “I don’t have money.”

A large number of women and young girls were sitting around Husna Bagri, a bangle vendor from Rohri. Each set of bangles cost Rs15.

“We are poor people with a small business. We just earn enough to buy daal and roti,” she said, adding that she earns a profit of Rs200 to Rs300 per day.

“On other days, I go from one locality to another to sell bangles and, on Fridays, I come to Juma Bazaar,” she added.

While the Juma Bazaar is a small set up, it offers almost all items of use for those who cannot afford to shop at the fancier shops in Shahi Bazaar and Frere Road Bazaar.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 28th, 2010.

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