KARACHI: Ans Azhar is busy bouncing the ball as he dodges his opponents during a tense basketball match; boys and girls cheer their teams smashing the ball over the net during a volleyball match; Aleem Agha focuses hard on the tenpins as he runs, hops and skips before rolling his bowling ball in his lane; at the pitch on the cricket ground, Usman Ghani knows he will easily score half a century as he hits his fifth boundary and on the road converted into a football field kids struggle to take possession of the ball as they keep a check on the time. No, we are not at some big sporting event. These players are only playing to pass their time before Sehri during the various Ramazan tournaments held in the city.

At the Ramazan Cup Basketball Tournament in Arambagh, the players come from all over the city. Those who make the Karsaz team hail from Karsaz, those from Kashmir Road call themselves the Bounce Club and the ones from around Nishtar Park are the Nishtar Club and so on. “The tournament, which commenced on July 6, will conclude on the 18th,” Abdul Nasir, secretary of the Karachi Basketball Association and Sindh Basketball, too, says. “That would leave out the nights of worship,” he adds.

The players, meanwhile, had no issues about driving all the way to Aram Bagh in the middle of the night. “We can be robbed, but that can happen any other day as well. Actually, we are safer in Ramazan as it’s a time when the devil is restrained,” Ans Azhar of the Karsaz team said laughingly.

Outside the basketball court there are several people resting on the cool grass watching the matches. Some are there only for a little while, others are homeless. Aftab Ahmed, a keen observer of the game, and a decorations expert working with a wedding planner, says that he has learnt a lot about basketball while simply watching the games here. “Earlier, I enjoyed watching football and cricket but now I have also developed an interest in basketball,” he added while glancing at the scoreboard.

In another part of the town, in DHA Phase-V, there are volleyball matches under way on the lawns of a house where several youngsters have gathered hours before Sehri. “We have been holding a Ramazan Volleyball Tournament every year here for the past five years,” says Amina Rashid Khan, one of the organisers.

“Ramazan is also about getting healthy and detoxing and sports has a role to play in it, so why not?” she says smilingly.

“The players are mostly from the neighbourhood or nearby areas so the neighbours are also not disturbed. They are quite supportive, actually,” says Ashok Chawla, the host.

The organisers also get sponsors for tournaments, who also donate prizes. “Sometimes, we present biscuits, sometimes hand sanitizers ... it depends on the sponsors really. And if we can’t find a sponsor, then we chip in to buy our own prizes for the winners,” Ashok adds.

In direct comparison to the cool atmosphere in DHA, there were several Ramazan football tournaments going on in Lyari, Malir and Ibrahim Hyderi, where kids besides playing their own games also gathered to discuss the Football World Cup in Brazil. With little interest in the third-position match between Brazil and the Netherlands now, everyone is more focussed on the final between Argentina and Germany.

The most popular of the tournaments that are held in every Ramazan for several years are the Ramazan festival cricket events.

These cricket matches are under way in several grounds all over the city such as Karachi Gymkhana, Aga Khan Gymkhana, Asghar Ali Shah Stadium, Lawai Stadium in Naya Nazimabad, Rashid Latif Cricket Academy and the DHA grounds. The matches are the short-duration Twenty20 and the prizes are very impressive — Rs300,000 to Rs700,000.

Although the other matches end around 2.30am so that the people have enough time to reach their homes for Sehri, at the Royal Rodale Club, the men competing in the bowling championship intend to play right till the siren goes off as they will have their Sehri right there at the club.

“The tournament is being played on the lines of the football World Cup,” informs Sindh Tenpin Bowling Association’s Secretary General Romis Ali.

Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2014