Dear reader, online ads enable us to deliver the journalism you value. Please support us by taking a moment to
40,000 Bohras from all over world attending their annual congregation in Karachi
KARACHI: Just a day before the Muharram moon was officially sighted in Pakistan, the roads in Saddar were crowded with men, women and children of the Dawoodi Bohra community. They were all headed towards one direction, the Taheri Masjid.
The buses, cars and motorcycles all had men in crisp white clothes and women distinctly dressed in those pretty and colourful Bohra burqas called rida.
Karachi this year is hosting some 40,000 Bohras from all over the world for their annual congregation, or Ashra Mubaraka, which takes place in different cities every year. There are visitors from India, Sri Lanka, Iraq, UAE, the rest of the Gulf region and the Far East, Malaysia, UK, Canada and the US. The hotels are full as are many Bohra homes who have welcomed members of their community with open arms.
“It is after about 21 years that we have so many people from our community visiting. It is the first time also that head of the Dawoodi Bohras Dr Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin is holding the Muharram majlis series. When the gathering was held 21 years ago here the sermons were conducted by [the late 52nd leader or dai] Dr Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin,” said Mustafa Tawawala, a senior member of the community in Karachi.
‘Our surnames say a lot about our family businesses’
Since the Bohras follow the Egyptian calendar, the Muslim year for them commenced a day before everyone else in Pakistan. And the first day was marked with the birthday of the thaal or the huge stainless steel serving platter placed on a kundli or wooden stool around which some eight people can sit cross-legged to enjoy the dishes.
Usually, there are about 53 dishes on each thaal. Fifty-three because the present leader of the community happens to be the 53rd one. But that’s not all, the variety in dishes is according to the concept of sakhan, which is a wish to be blessed in as big a variety of ways are there are dishes on the thaal. The more the dishes the more the blessings.
There is all kinds of food including the popular Bohra khitchra, a rice and meat dish, chicken, fish, vegetables, pickles, salads, raita, savoury dishes, deserts and fruit on the thaal. Every meal begins and ends with the tasting of salt but on the birthday of the thaal on Muharram 1, it is customary to first pass a coconut over the thaal seven times in clockwise motion. Then after the tasting of salt it is time to have the sweetened rice. As a shukrana or thanksgiving every happy occasion within the community begins by having the sweet dish first.
On Sunday, Sakina Bookwala and family, who crossed over to Pakistan from India by train a few days ago, were on their way for the majlis in Saddar. “We are travelling from Mumbai in a group. We first arrived in Lahore before coming to Karachi,” said Sakina, surrounded by her immediate family which includes her little daughter Sarah, who is wearing a very pretty cap with sail boats, steering wheels, anchors and lifebuoys embroidered on it.
The family is also accompanied by the extended family comprising cousins, aunts and uncles. All could be spotted from afar in their traditional attire. The women are wearing different coloured rida and the men the three-piece white kurta, pajama and saya, a long matching coat worn over the kurta. On their heads they are wearing white caps with golden embroidery. Some also wear golden caps with white embroidery.
When asked if she suggested the design on her cap, Sarah smiled shyly before nodding. And how many caps did she have? “Three,” she said. “This and two more, one decorated with lace and the other with ribbons,” she added.
“The caps serve as training headgear for when they are old enough to adorn the rida. They also prove as encouragement to dress decently,” explained Sakina. All the little girls going to attend majlis wear similar caps. One girl has different colour fish on her cap, another has beads on hers. The caps match the clothes. “We have plenty of cap makers within our community. They are experts in their craft,” said the mother.
Some of those experts can be found at the nearby Najmi Market, too. There are shops there catering specifically to the Bohra community as they are also owned by Bohras. Unstitched rida sellers, rida tailors, shops selling lace for the borders of the pleated rida capes with hoods and the long skirts and shops which sell Bohra menswear. There are also shops selling other things of daily use such as the wooden slippers, or kharawein, as they are called, attar, bukhur, the short, fat incense sticks, thaal, kundli, etc.
The visitors to Pakistan though don’t really have time to shop. Sakina and her family said that they would be leaving around the 12th of Muharram. “Wish we could stay longer but the children would miss too much of school then,” she pointed out.
With so many Dawoodi Bohras around all of sudden others want to know more about them, which is not easy to do as they are a very peace-loving, quiet community who keep to themselves and don’t like to fuss or attract attention towards themselves. “We are commonly known as ‘Bohri’ here, which is a distortion of Bohra. We don’t even call the bazaar, commonly known as the Bohri Bazaar that. We call it Bohra Bazaar,” Mr Tawawala said.
“The word ‘Bohra’ means traders, by the way,” he said. “Our community has been associated with various trades,” he added.
“For instance, if you come across a Bandukwala, you can be certain that he is a progeny of someone who traded in hunting rifles. Similarly, up in the family tree of a Sadriwala there must have been someone involved in the trade of selling or making umbrellas. So our surnames say a lot about our family businesses,” he said, adding that such names are common in Gujaratis, who happen to be business-minded people.
Coming back to their attire, one wondered if it could also be an issue as it sets them apart. “It gives us an identity, too,” says Mr Tawawala. But what if that identity makes them a target for troublemakers? “We are a peaceful, non-political community. Why would anyone target us?” He wondered aloud upon which he was reminded about the bomb blast outside Saleh Mosque in 2015 and the worst of all attack on Bohri Bazaar in 1987.
“If we become afraid of some isolated incidents that happened over the years and don’t wear our traditional clothes or stop going to our mosques, or jamatkhana, then we also lose our culture and out identity,” he concluded.
Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2017
Comments (56) Closed
All the corrupt politicians sitting in the front wearing special arm bands! Why these crooks are invited to religious events?
Great way to foster peace and harmony. Weldone Sindh !
We welcome Bohra community members in Karachi .
Welcome to karachi
And traders they are.
Respect for the Bohra community.
Good story. Thank you Dawn for doing a good job at journalism.
Perhapsd the most peacefuland peace loving community - and serving the nation with best business sense
"Boharis" are muchloved community in Mumbai.
We welcome our Bohra brothers to Pakistan. As a country we should encourage all kinds of tourism including religious tourism . It will create a whole new industry and bring in much needed foreign exchange. It will also bring tolerance in society when Pakistanis meet with these minority communities.
The Bohra community is the pride of India. I can personally confirm making life long friends from the people of this wonderful, peaceful and fun loving community. Just to know how much they have integrated with other communities in Bombay; the biggest fire cracker sellers in Bombay during Diwali happen to be three shops located side by side in Mohammad Ali road owned by families of the Bohra Community.
Welcome to all Bohra brothers. 40,000 - that's a lot of people that will hopefully return to their homelands with warm stories of Pakistani hospitality!
Enjoy the blessings of the Lord! Salam! Peace! Harmony !
So glad to see these visitors in Karachi from around the globe, hope they all enjoy their stay & the Pakistani hospitality.
Have a safe and spiritual journey my Bohra community friends!
bohra is the best community
It is pleasent to hear the Bohra community led by their honourable leader to is holding their gathering in Karachi, Pakistan. Let all welcome this small community with passions and generosity of love. God bless Pakistan with happiness, prosperity and peace.
Mumbai is home to maximum number of bohras
Welcome to Pakistan and thanks for bringing love and peace to Karachi. Stay safe and pray hard for all of us.
Pakistan welcomes all the religious communities whether Sikhs, Hindus or isolated community of Bohra in Karachi or elsewhere. This is real Pakistan.
“We are commonly known as ‘Bohri’ here, which is a distortion of Bohra. We don’t even call the bazaar, commonly known as the Bohri Bazaar that. We call it Bohra Bazaar,” Mr Tawawala said.
Wow, Karachi born and raised and I never knew that.
So nice to see our Bohra brothers and sisters enjoying their religious activities. I hope we see more of these activities and people respect one another and celebrate our rich culture and traditions. We welcome all these guests from abroad as well. Peace and greetings to everybody.
A small, conservative Bohra community in Bangladesh.
Welcome to Karachi my Bohra brothers and sisters. The entire world where they reside are blessed with their presence.
Bohra muslim community in Mumbai is one of the most peace loving, harmonious, classy and prosperous community. Quite a few of them have travelled to Karachi . Please ensure their safety and wellbeing.
Does Bohra religious leader stay in india?
Beautiful except for the part of the politicians who are trying to take the limelight away from this religious reception.
Welcome to Bohras community.
Welcome to Karachi and all the best. Great to see the gathering being held in Karachi.
To the best of my knowledge 600 Bohras of India nationality have been issued visas by Pakistan Embassy, Kuwait to attend their gathering in Karachi. Iqbal Hadi Zaidi / Kuwait / zaidi.formerdiplomat@hotmail.com
@Proud to be Indian, The main spiritual leader of Bhora community lives in London.
my senior in office is from Bohra community,, he is one of the best person i ever meet,,, very often he bring food from his home and i really love their food... i wish we all Muslims be like them,
Part of the purpose for religious gatherings is to generate economic activity. Hajj, Christmas, Hannuka, Diwali, Holi etc all serve that purpose which is very important. Bohras have theirs too.
Welcome to the land and people of the best host country in the entire world. Keep it up and hang on tough. May God Almighty bless you, your loved ones and the entire Muslim Ummah. Aameen, Tsum Aameen.
It is great to see that Karachi is hosting this event after two decades. It is all due to peaceful Karachi now. May God keep Karachi peaceful ..
After holding such a great event of 40,000 foreigners, all Karachiites should demand the immediate resignation of the PCB Chairman whose anti Karachi approach is no more hidden.
Have many Bohra friends in Abbotabad, Rawalpindi and Karachi working for the prosperity of the country by creating jobs and contributing in several social initiatives. Welcome to Karachi friends.
Borahs make so much money and they are very good at the welfare of their community but they ought to invest for the benefit of the community at large too!
Bohras are very peaceful, educated, wealthy and lovely community.
Bohris are some of the nicest and simplest people in Karachi.
Informative article!
Pakistan has many opportunities to promote religious tourism in Punjab, Taxila and other parts of the country as well.
Dawoodi Bohra is a peaceful community. Their presence in Karachi for commemoration of Ashaura-e-Muharram is most welcome. Our strength lies in the unity of all communities.
Good job by Dawn. I can see only positive comments, no negative comments.
Boharas in India mostly speak Gujrati. Just eager know which language Bohras staying outside India speak ?
Indian Bohra's are main in hardware trade and are well established. Their love for clean cloths, clean habits is well known.
Its a respectable community in India.
peace loving, educated class
Words of wisdom: "If we become afraid of some isolated incidents that happened over the years and don’t wear our traditional clothes or stop going to our mosques, or jamatkhana, then we also lose our culture and out identity,” I had the opportunkity to live for many years besides them and have always admired these quite and peaceful community. My Congratulations to Bohra community for organising such a big meeting in my city, whereas everyone in the world tends to avoid visiting our country. It is an act of utmost courage and loyality to Pakistan.
Bohra community are very peace loving community.they have produced remarkable business men like habil khorakiwala of wockhardt and azim premji of wipro.pakistani founder mohd ali jinnah also belonged to a section of bohras called khojas.may their conference succeed and rejuvenate them to xcale greater heights
Great it is time to have an open mind and let people enjoy the city of Karachi.
Thank you, Karachi and Pakistan for hosting us. We are enjoying our stay.
I must mention that our Dai, Dr. Mufaddat Saifuddin, resides in Saifee Mahal, a family mansion, in Walkeshwar, Malabar Hill, a posh suburb in Bombay. We are a peace loving and non-political community and get along well with all other communities. We are extremely grateful to our leaders and teachers of our community who imbibe in us the love of God and all mankind, and inspire in us knowledge, kindness and the concern for the well being of our fellow humankind.
Welcome Bohras from all over the world.
They are a hardworking and peaceful people. That is why they are loved all over the world where they live.
it is customary to first pass a coconut over the thaal seven times in clockwise motion.
Bohra are liberal, peaceful and rooted to Indian values as is evident from above practice.
Why do they do that , shall be an interesting subject of research.
Bohra or Bohri, as we call them in India, are a very progressive, enterprising and hard working community. They give lot of importance to the education for women.. Few years back, they started a community kitchen in Mumbai so that working Bohri women can completely focus on their jobs and business without thinking about cooking at home.
They are very well assimilated into the Indian society like the Parsis and are known for their entrepreneurial skills.
My best friend is a Bohri from Mumbai..
Shazia Hasan your article was indeed helpful to know about Bohra community.Despite being so close to them in our province, I never got such information on their traditions. Thank you.
Interesting aspect of Bohra community are that they are socially progressive thinkers, respect and practice environment conservation. I have personally worked with Burhani Foundation in Mumbai, India briefly and found them very warm. These aspects should be highlighted as well.