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Which Pak city is cooler – Lahore or Karachi
While visiting Lahore and Karachi, I found both cities were being perceived as unsafe. In Karachi, friends warned that I might die in a bomb blast in Lahore. In Lahore, friends warned that my cell phone might be robbed at gunpoint in Karachi. It was funny to hear Karachiites and Lahoris being bitchy about each other. The rivalry is so intense that there are hyperactive Karachi Vs Lahore clubs on the Facebook. Initially, to my foreign eyes, both cities looked equally dry. No bars, no discos, and too many beards and hijabs. Gradually I discovered that Lahore and Karachi are poles apart.
One is old. One is new. One blooms in the heart of green fields. One sprawls out of a sandy desert. One has Amritsar within 30 miles. One has no city within 60 miles. One is in the land of five rivers. One is in the land of one river. One has the canal. One has the sea. One has the gardens. One has the beaches. One is the citadel of culture. One is the bastion of business. One has the heritage of Mughals. One has the heritage of British. One is the fiefdom of Shariefs. One is the fiefdom of Bhuttos. One has a pleasure-house in Heera Mandi. One has a pleasure-house in Napier Road. One has the grave of legendary courtesan Anarkali. One has the grave of legendary singer Noor Jehan. One has french fries as street food. One has dahivadas as street food.
Lahore is literally literary. John Milton praised Lahore in Paradise Lost. Rudyard Kipling’s opened Kim outside its old Ajaib Ghar (the museum). Bapsi Sidhwa began Cracking India in its Jail Road. Lahore has history as rich as Delhi’s. it was the capital of Akbar – the greatest Mughal emperor. It was the capital of Ranjit Singh – the greatest Sikh ruler. Lahore is also Pakistan’s principal gourmet destination. Nihari is relished at Bhati Gate. Payas are ordered in Heera Mandi. Halwa Puri is devoured in Railway Road. Kheer is savored in Gawalamandi. Rooftop dinner is enjoyed at Cuckoo’s. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan had called Lahore’s people ‘Zinda Dillan-i-Punjab’. Muhammad Ali Jinnah had called it the ‘Heart of Pakistan.’ After all, it has Minar-e-Pakistan, Pakistan’s India Gate.
But Lahore is too provincial; more Punjabi than even Delhi. Karachi is closer to Bombay and you feel its cosmopolitanism in its salty sultry air. Its people speak in English, write in Urdu, think in Baluchi and dream in Sindhi. As first capital of the Islamic republic, Karachi is known as the city of lights. It is actually the city of load shedding. Never mind. The metropolis is Pakistan’s maximum city. It has fiction writers, fashion designers, globetrotting businessmen, TV actors and glamorous socialites.
It also has Taliban terrorists, underworld dons and gun-wielding thugs. But most people in Karachi are like me and you. They go to offices. They watch films in multiplexes. They text romance-shayiris to their lovers. They take camel rides on the beach. They go crabbing on the sea. They drink Vodka, snort cocaine and hook up sex dates on the Internet. In daily wear, they wear shalwars as well as shorts.
Karachi may not match Lahore’s history but it is a city with many *firsts*. British India’s first telegraphic message was sent from here. British India’s first tramway system was set up here. British India’s first scheduled airline service was started from here. It was the place where Alexander the Great set his camps. It was the place from where Muhammad Bin Qasim led his invading army into the heart of Hindustan. It was the magnet that attracted Indian Muslim refugees with dreams of a better future. It is the magnet that attracts people from all over Pakistan with dreams of a better future.
It is really a city with two cities. Beautiful Karachi – rich, sexy, fast, pulsating and dynamic. Ugly Karachi – poor, uncouth, violent, unplanned, and dangerous. It is the worst nightmare of Pakistan. It is the best hope of Pakistan.
For me, Karachi anytime. Sorry, Lahore.
(33 votes, average: 4.18 out of 5)
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karachi is a mini dubai.all underworld and drug chain and pashtun terrorists all live happily blowing down each other in karanchi.
sanjeev Reply:
April 13th, 2010 at 10:56 pm
@ amir
Minus the infidels or kaffirs
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Sid Reply:
April 14th, 2010 at 10:08 am
@ sanjeev
Obviously you’ve never been to Karachi.. ranting like a typical ignorant Indian, bred on a diet of anti-Pakistan hatred is entirely natural for naive individuals like yourself
[Reply]