Far from the cosmopolitan jungle of Karachi is the quiet town of Mitthi
ABOUT four hours drive from Hyderabad, lies the small dusty village of Mitthi. Surrounded by the desert, Mitthi had a lot of surprises in store for us after we decided to accompany our father on his official deputation to the place.
The road to Mitthi is laden with barren tracts and thorny bushes. But the eye-catching landscape that accompany it make the trip less tiring. And then of course there’s the pistachio-almond tea available at every road-side cafe, every so-miles along the road. calories was the last thing on my mind as I gulped down one after the another of these drinks.
Even though our journey had started at Noon, mid-way darkness was all around us. But where the rest of family was concerned about driving in the dark, without any streetlight around, I considered the experience exciting! At times our four-wheel drive would almost drive off the track and into the bushes, the main reason being the acute turns and twists that the road frequently surprised us with. Finally we were in Mitthi. The sight of the town from afar was amazing. In middle of the desert, a whole town, lit bright, is a sight only eyes that have witnessed it can behold. The town itself was an amazing outing.
If you, like me, believe in buying little souvenirs, then Mitthi is one place where you don’t return empty handed. There’s a lot of traditional hand-made stuff available here. The delicate handiwork comprises of mirror work and zardosi. Vaswani and Malani are two of the town’s major tourist shops. While ambling along the streets, we spotted Mr Mohan Lal’s jewellery shop. He had some very beautiful pieces of pure silver jewellery that left nothing but words of praise in your mouth. The prices here, as they are throughout the town, very low.
Mitthi is not a outpost by any mean. The town is well-connected to the rest of the world, courtesy of the Internet. Cafes that allow you to log on are dotted throughout the town. However, one big contradiction to it all is the absence of any mobile phone service in Mitthi. With no major source fo water, the town and its agriculture relies solely on rain for its needs. But when it does rain, the sand dunes all around it turn velvet like green.
On the whole, I found Mitthi to be a peaceful town, even though preparations for the local elections were at full swing. The police department hardly gets any complaints. People leave their shops open, and unattended without the fear of being robbed. We even parked our car by the road side, with the keys inside and without locking it. Before the whole trip to Mitthi got off the ground, I was uneasy at the thought of going to a rather unknown place. In the end, I was proved wrong.
Far from the cosmopolitan jungle of Karachi is the quiet town of Mitthi
