KARACHI: The people of the city are not used to very cold weather. Therefore, the mercury drop after the recent light showers is a surprise. Many were in denial when knowledgeable friends warned them that “winter is coming” until it actually came.
Just a hoodie or sweatshirt, a sweater over normal cotton clothes or a single blanket or quilt will not do anymore. The shivering, the chattering of teeth, the cold breaths yearn for mittens, woollen socks, beanies, earmuffs, thicker blankets, quilts with extra filling, fur-lined jackets and heaters in the house. Instead what we have is a head start on freezing early in the morning when you turn on the tap to the torture of washing your hands with ice-cold water (the geysers are still off because of nightlong gas loadshedding) and it is all down a snowy hill after that.
Karachi roads wore a deserted look soon after sundown as most people preferred remaining indoors. “It’s the end of winter. It won’t get any colder than this. So better to wait it out indoors,” said one Karachiite, speaking for millions of others who also stayed back home.
“We can’t hide ourselves behind closed doors and shut windows. We have to face the Siberian winds the best we can as we can’t stop working. We need to go out to earn our living,” said another, speaking for the ones who needed to go out for one reason or the other. They braved the cold with jackets and shawls over sweaters, mittens, beanies and earmuffs.
Desperate times called for desperate measures when things became too much, especially at night. Then dried tree branches, wood and cardboard from old fruit crates were brought to use to begin a nice little campfire to sit around.
The usual evening crowd of friends outside tea stalls moved inside to enjoy the tea while losing numbers. “Tea at home can taste as pleasant and aromatic as at a dhaba. I have no desire to catch pneumonia for having tea with friends. I can have tea while enjoying screen time at home,” said a friend who loved tea and paratha outings.
Still, for all those ditching dhaba tea, there was an equal number at the yakhni [broth] shop in Bolton Market. Plain chicken broth with a good squeeze of the lime at Rs120 a bowl and special broth at Rs300 a bowl with boiled egg and papri [cracker] never tasted better than having it on a chilly evening.
Similar sentiments were shared by others buying roasted peanuts, corn on the cob and crisp sweet jalebi at roadside stalls.
Eight-year-old Ayesha looked too well-clad in comparison to her father in just a cotton shalwar-kameez. “I’m wearing Abbu’s jacket,” the child gestured to her oversized black jacket that reached below her knees.
“It’s okay,” said the father. “I can take the cold. But my daughter may fall ill,” he said, adding that they misjudged the weather when leaving home during the afternoon.
Thick jackets and puffer jackets were selling aplenty at Lighthouse where concerned parents ended up looking for warm clothes for their children.
Meanwhile, Saeed Khan there was happy to have sold many of his second-hand coats and blazers which he carried in the market on his left shoulder.
Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2026
