A Cacophony of Sights, Sounds and Smells - Empress Market

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A Cacophony of Sights, Sounds and Smells - Empress Market

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 On a recent visit to the Empress Market, located on Preedy Street in Karachi's downtown Saddar area, it seemed like I was bouncing along in a stream of shoppers. One of the oldest bazaars of the city, the Empress Market is brimming with merchandise, both outside and inside. There are rows and rows of stalls selling everything one can think of -- from fresh fruits to poultry to spices, everyday household items and even pet animals! For a small fee, an old man or a young boy who might be trailing behind you - with a basket slung over his shoulder - will carry the burden of your shopping.

 The smells and sounds flood my senses as I join the bustling commotion, shielding my camera with my hand to avoid collision. I am no tourist out for sight-seeing. I have been born and raised in this city and this is my umpteenth visit to the Empress Market. However, this time I am here to take back stored digital images rather than bags full of groceries.

From the street I notice some poor women - sellers of dry-fruit who cannot afford space inside the covered market, and therefore sell their ware on the roadside. They bring their children along. The kids just sit there in the open or play right in the midst of the dangerous flow of traffic. Who would care for them at home anyway? The dry-fruit stalls inside the market sell all that these women do, but they also have colourful fruit baskets covered with red or yellow cellophane and decorations…the usual gifts that people buy to take to their in-laws' house on special occasions such as a wedding or an Eid festival.

Our love affair with spices continues, and no cuisine can be complete without the exotic tastes and aromas of the spices we use in this part of the world. Centuries ago, the search for spices revealed entire continents to the Europeans, who then colonised vast empires. I am not exactly thinking of the history of the spice trade while looking at the large bags full of turmeric, red chilli, black pepper or coriander powder and many more, but the beautiful colours and pungent aromas tantalise me. I begin imagining having some extraordinary gourmet dishes for my dinner that evening.

 I am also fascinated by the labelled bottles selling different oils that come in all colours. A man selling these claims they are genuine - all kinds of oils under the sun, extracted from coconuts, almonds, chambeli (jasmine), castor, poppy seeds, olives, sesame and kalonji (Nigella sativa, which is sometimes wrongly called black cumin or black onion seed).  These oils are supposedly obtained from the leaves, bark, flowers, seeds or fruits of different plants, and are used as herbal medicine for the cure of various common ailments. In another area, posters for Roohani (spiritual) Hair Oil flaunt its various properties: from prevention of hair loss and dandruff, to the cure of insomnia and headaches. Yet another person sells a drug for pests that is 'one hundred percent guaranteed', and announces that it can wipe out all creepy-crawlies, from bed bugs and ants to rodents such as rats.

The Empress Market, it is recorded, is located on the site where Hindu and Muslim soldiers were strapped by the British to the mouths of cannons and blown to pieces as punishment for their involvement in the War of Independence in 1857. There is, however, no monument here to remember their sacrifice: Just the cacophony of the traffic and the hustle-bustle that is characteristic of such bazaars.

The foundation stone of the Market was laid in 1884 by the Governor of Bombay, Sir James Ferguson. Completed in 1889, it was named in honour of Queen Victoria, Empress of India, to commemorate her Silver Jubilee. The cost of construction was only Rs 120,000. Built in the Indo-Gothic style, the Empress Market is a symbol of Karachi's glory from the days of British rule. The main building is arranged around a courtyard 130ft by 100ft, with four galleries, each 46ft wide. These galleries provide accommodation for over 200 shops and 300 stalls.

Old photographs of the place, as well as what I recall from my childhood days, reveal a clean and orderly market-place with no encroachments, no graffiti or posters on the walls and no beggars sprawled out in the atrium. Unfortunately, this elegant historic building has not only experienced the vagaries of time, but has also suffered from constant public abuse and official neglect. The mess and the chaos notwithstanding, an interesting mix of people from different ethnic, religious and racial backgrounds converges here daily. Although lifestyles and people's habits have changed, the Empress Market continues to attract them for the range of goods it has to offer. 

- High magazine - an Amir Adnan Publication (Current issue)