KARACHI: The changing colour of leaves, a slight chill in the air, especially in the evenings and the heat from the sun being not as bothersome any more are all reminiscent of the arrival of winter.

Though most northern cities of Pakistan are in the grip of cold already, here in Karachi we are just preparing for winter. Occasionally, on the roads one comes across a donkey cart loaded with chopped wood branches to burn where there is no gas or heat. “I work till late in the evenings so would like to have a little bonfire on the side to keep me warm,” says Abdullah Khan, a fruit seller who parks his fruit cart at a specific corner in a Clifton neighbourhood. “Sometimes when I don’t have branches to burn, I just take an empty fruit crate and turn it into firewood,” he shares.

Also on the road you may see pickup trucks loaded with old hand-me-down woolies. At the Lighthouse area, there is no shortage of shoppers of coats and jackets. Still on closer observation, one notices that most of the people are buying warm clothing for children. Shagufta Ahmed, a mother shopping there, says that most people buy warm clothing for their children every winter due to their growing ages. “What you got them last year, won’t fit this year so we have to buy more clothes for them. And, quite frankly, for children it is better not to buy expensive new clothes because they outgrow them so fast,” she explains.

There are also people buying mittens and caps. But who wears mittens or thick woolen caps in Karachi? Fazil Usmani, the shopkeeper laughs. “Maybe they don’t wear them here but can buy from here and take with them to a cooler place. I get customers who buy shawls, mittens or caps from me before going to Rawalpindi or Peshawar. I also get students going abroad to study who need warm clothing to wear there. So even though Karachi isn’t very cold and it will never snow here but it does snow elsewhere and you can shop here for that place,” he says.

Meanwhile, you are constantly receiving text messages about some designer line or the other bringing out its winter collection. The billboards, too, are full of them.

In fruit markets, the winter delight, pomegranate, and citrus fruits such as oranges and grapefruit have also arrived as you bid adieu to grapes.

The dried fruit sellers are also happy to be receiving more customers, as pistachios, cashew nuts, walnuts, chestnuts, almonds, figs, raisins and the ever-favourite pine nuts though available the entire year suddenly become more desirable in this season.

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2015

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