Karachi Eat Festival at a glance

Last week the Karachi Eat Festival was rained out. Everyone knew the weather forecast, but the festival still went ahead because, hey, as one of the organisers said, “who takes the weather forecast seriously?”

Keeping in mind Karachi Eat Festival’s decision to ban single men unless accompanied by women in order to combat harassment, one wag claimed: “That was not rain; it was the tears of every single man in Karachi which drowned out the event.”

After one damp squishy day, the festival was postponed for a week. So on a hot sunny day in Karachi which made you ask, what happened to winter, I decided to check out the festival.

A rather liberating feature of the Karachi Eat Festival was the decision to ban unaccompanied single men. Two guys with stubble loitering in leather jackets tried to sneak in behind me but were immediately stopped by a security personnel.

“Oh bhai, tum kidhar jaa rahay ho?”

I tried not to smirk as I strode past.

At the ticket counter, a teenager was accosted in a loud voice by a female volunteer. “Who are you with?”

He stammered, “Ah, I am, I’m with my mother and sister, they are behind the line.”

“Well you should be with them, not alone here,” she replied.

For once, women didn’t need the company of men to “protect” them in a public place. And that was truly empowering. One didn’t realise how good the feeling was until one went inside. The men were on their best behaviour, apologising profusely with hands raised if they brushed past a woman. Until the men here stop misbehaving with females (as Atif Aslam requested them to do during his concert), banning unaccompanied single men from such festivals is a welcome step.

Hands down, the best stall was Juicy Lucy burgers with their succulent beef patty, feathery bun and delicious sauce which made the long queue in the hot sun just about bearable. I definitely got my monthly dose of Vitamin D just waiting in line. But what is perplexing is that Juicy Lucy has no outlet in Karachi. Come on, are you guys nuts?

The chai from Chai Wala was just right if a trifle too hot. But then hot tea is way better than lukewarm tea. It was good to see women at the helm of many stalls giving orders, serving piping hot food and dealing with cash. In the crowd were many trendy mums of Karachi who seemed to speak only in English to their toddlers. Complexed, much? Why is there no importance placed on knowing your mother tongue? These pretentious mothers are probably unaware that there is a Mother Language Day celebrated by the United Nations on an annual basis.

The Burnes Road stall looked appetising, but why on earth would you queue for ages for food you can get elsewhere and that too without the long wait? Plus, there was a woeful lack of seating at the festival so most people were forced to sprawl on the ground to eat. There were attempts by the organisers and workers to scoop up the trash and put it in bins, but what was shocking was the lack of civic sense even amongst youngsters. Empty cups, stained plates, leftover food, dirty tissues, fallen food, soft drink bottles and cutlery was underfoot and on abandoned tables and ledges. The least we can do is pick up our own rubbish, surely? The youngsters have nonchalant parents and lazy peers and pick up the bad habit. It is not cool. Forget about becoming a great nuclear power, first, we need to learn to put away our rubbish.

The cookie I picked up from Karamel on my way out was a delight that I savoured at night while watching Netflix; the only regret was why, oh why, didn’t I pick up more cookies? The ladies manning the counter were beautifully dressed in lace creations and red lipstick which topped off their pristine milky-white complexions just as bedraggled and exhausted I was staggering out of the festival. The vision was not unlike seeing Emma Stone floating in La La Land… it revived the senses. Which was a relief because of the horrendous traffic jam awaiting one outside and the half hour wait for the marooned car. Once my car arrived, I nearly fell over a desperate man who mistook the car for his own and was clinging to the passenger door which I had to prise away from him.

Photo: Karamel Facebook Page

Despite the presence of a large number of traffic personnel with their paraphernalia at the outskirts of the festival, there was a massive traffic logjam mainly because of the crowds, but also due to the incomprehensible security barriers put up willy nilly. What was the sense of parking empty traffic police vans right on the main road and obstructing traffic on the narrow road? A better place would have been on the long driveway leading to Frere Hall. Towards the evening, volunteers were trying to commandeer the traffic but it was too little too late.

Having said that, the Karachi Eat Festival was a success by any standard and the organisers should be appreciated for bringing a breath of fresh air to Karachi’s social landscape. It was one place where the divide between the two sides of the Clifton bridge was bridged. So there were fashionista mothers in leather jackets and Uggs with kids in dresses and shorts while close by was a bearded chap in a prayer cap with his wife in a half niqab and kids in gauzy dupattas; women in chadars and mismatched clothes and next to them were fashion plate girls in tight orange sweaters and matching lipsticks. Needless to say, the different classes kept their distance because never the twain shall meet. More’s the pity.

Views of the author do not reflect those of Geo News