KARACHI: There is a market in the city that caters solely for men. If there are any women there, they are there to shop for their fathers, brothers, husbands or sons.

We are at Saddar Cooperative Market, which has boasted of casual desi clothing for men since the 1950s. “This market has been responsible for the closing down of many gents’ tailors all over the city. Because, while women can easily explain designs and styles and even argue with their tailors to explain to them their point of view, this does not come naturally to men, who think of it all as a major hassle,” says Abdul Rehman of Abdul Rehman Cloth Centre, a small shop in the market.

With the approaching of summer as women go lawn shopping, the gentleman also cannot be expected to sweat it out in their thick old cotton and polyester shalwar suits. Though there is a lot of variety to choose from, crisp cool white pure cotton and lawn kurtas are this market’s speciality.

Sheikh Ali Raza of Diamond Drapers says that earlier the white kurta was mostly identified with Urdu-speaking gentlemen but that is no longer the case as everyone wants something cool to wear in summer. “Older men go for the pure white kurta with round neck as the younger lot like the sherwani collar, which they can also jazz up by adding a shawl, chaddar or waistcoat,” he says.

According to the shopkeeper, the traditional kurta with a bit of embroidery on front is not very expensive, because it is machine-made and mass produced. “A kurta made from mixed material or fabric costs Rs500, a cambric cotton kurta costs Rs700 while one made of pure cotton is for Rs1,000,” he says.

The market also caters to grooms and their friends as there are Bosky and raw silk suits there as well with matching or contrasting waistcoats and turbans. “Well, these are for weddings where halls are air-conditioned,” justifies Mohammad Junaid at Zaid Collection, another shop.

Mohammad Waqas at Khan Jee Kurta Corner says that the coloured suits with decorative embroidery costing between Rs1,800 and Rs2,000 aren’t too expensive either, well if you compare them to women’s suits, that is.

But what was most amazing, were a lot of chunri dupatta lying around. Prices for a chunri vary between Rs150, Rs250, Rs350 and Rs650, depending on the quality and material. Aha, who said that this market catered solely to men? For don’t women wear the chunri? “Wrong! The chunris are for men. What, don’t you watch Pakistani and Indian movies? Haven’t you noticed how the men in those movies dress in dance sequences?” the salesman says.

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2016