As the people left the majlis hal, a couple of women standing at the door passed on a small packet to each of them — this is tabarruk, or a small token of blessing. It is a practice observed almost at all majalis throughout Muharram, with the giver and receiver both seeking blessings.

The tabarruk consists of typically easy-to-carry packets of food items. Mineral water bottles, milk and fruit juices packs; bakery items like plain cakes, buns, rolls, samosas, patties and pastries, various breads, rice-based meals, kebab rolls and shaami kebabs in parathas; sweet meats, fresh and dried fruit, and of course the famous trademark haleem and khichra — there is no bar on the variety of tabarruk.

Since the idea is that distributing this food is a source of barkat (blessing), people of all beliefs throng to partake in the blessings, and the increasing demand for Muharram tabarruk creates an annual surge of income for the food industry.

According to a report by Ali Imran Syed for a TV channel, by conservative estimates at least Rs550 million is spent on tabarruk and niyaz on Ashura alone. The food distributed at mazaars, majalis, mosques, imambargahs, neighbourhoods and homes during the two months of mourning amounts to Rs1,000 million.

The haleem, biryani, sheermal, bakery and sweetmeat shops see a boom in business in Muharram. Many of them have been around for more than a quarter of a century and provide food in bulk on concessional rates to their regular clients. Around 300-400 degs of haleem are prepared in Muharram in just one of Karachi’s main eateries, and often on Ashura orders for up to 100 degs are placed in a single day. Some kitchens have to turn customers away as they cannot meet the increased demand.

Haleem, both chicken and beef, selling at Rs260/kg, is the most popular items at one of the well known outlets on Karachi’s Burns Road. The majority of the customers are individuals who buy tabarruk for private majalis, and 75 per cent of these are old clients. Sales surge in the first 10 days of Muharram and then remain high for the remainder of the month. Before Muharram the shop prints out brochures advertising a 10-20pc discount as a goodwill gesture and a good marketing strategy. The most popular items at food suppliers are chicken biryani (Rs130 per plate) and sheermal (Rs30). Other popular items include mutton pulao, haleem, qorma, daal chawal, shami kebab, besani naan, taftan, kheer, zarda and halwa. Prices range from Rs35 for shami kebabs to Rs170 for mutton pulao. The demand for tabarruk is ever-increasing and sales soar significantly in the first 10 days, when large orders for haleem, biryani, etc. are placed.

Hasnain, caretaker of a neighbourhood mosque and imambargah, scours his area for bakeries and food outlets offering hygienic food at competitive rates. His target is to keep the average cost of one tabarruk item to Rs12-15. He makes arrangements for about 1,200 people from the beginning of Muharram to over 2,500 people towards the end of the Ashura. The cost of faaqa shikani (the breaking of fast on 10th Muharram) itself comes to more than Rs100,000; the Ashura expenditure on tabarruk is above Rs200,000, and for the whole mourning period of two and a half months, the imambargah’s tabarruk expenses come to around Rs300,000.

This ‘official’ tabarruk is bought with donations made through the year by individuals and the imambargah trustees. It does not take into account the tabarruk that is distributed by the mourners themselves. Donors either bring in large quantities of tabarruk themselves, or place an order with Husnain to arrange food items such as biryani that can cost up to Rs150 per person. From Muharram 7-10, there is no account of the tabarruk that pours in from all corners of the neighbourhood and beyond.

The majalis continue for two months after the first 10 days of Muharram, especially those arranged by women in their homes all over the city. The two months of Muharram and Safar are blocked with majalis from morning to night, and the tabarruk distributed here generates an industry that runs many homes. And that is truly a blessing.