Aug 3, 2021: Religious shrines and almonries in Karachi, until March 2020, before the Covid19 pandemic hit Pakistan, were filled with tens and thousands of devotees every day, and also served as the city’s largest almonries, responsible for feeding millions.

In the face of a growing urban city, spirituality has always been an important part of Karachi’s social fabric but the shrines are feeling the brunt of the covid19 pandemic as much as any other commercial or social centre.

The coastal city, home to more than 20 million people, has more than 341 registered and unregistered shrines. It also includes the eternal resting place of one of the earliest saints of Sindh.

Due to the Covid19 induced restrictions, the closure of the shrine means that all those who rely on its food centers for shelter and sustenance will no longer be able to afford their daily bread.

According to Syed Muhammad Abrar al-Anbiya, a spiritual figure associated with the shrine of Qutb Shah Alam, the concept of langar (begging) is at the very heart of shrine culture.

“Until Covid19, we had never gone a day without some devotee distributing langar among the indigent, who would routinely line up by the shrine’s almonry. But now, since devotees are only allowed to say fatiha at the shrine’s gate and leave, the concept of langars has also died down,” he told.

Although, over the past year and a half, shrines have managed to open their doors amid successive lockdowns because of covid19, the recent surge in cases means it has once again become difficult to breathe life into a vibrant culture that employs thousands and provides millions.

It is common to see a food center or catering business near a shrine. According to Anbiya, the business depends on the shrine’s visitors and devotees, who buy food from them and donate to the shrine’s alms.

However, it is not just humans who are fed at these food centers. It is also common for pilgrims to anchor animals and birds that camp outside the shrine or dot the coastal sky. This tradition enabled the opening of several bird feed stores near the shrine.

“But since people have been absent from the shrines due to the covid19 virus, our stores have gone without business and without bird food,” said Ahmed Saeed, a bird feed seller.

On the other hand, Ahmed Dawood, a devotee of a local shrine, says said that though Covid19 has not entirely quenched the spiritual thirst of the believers, but has certainly dampened it to a certain extent.

Despite the pandemic, pilgrims still visit shrines and distribute anchors, albeit on a much smaller scale than the greatness of better times, he said. Small-scale langars still exist. People bring food packets from their homes and distribute them to those in need.

Pappu, who runs a food center near Ghaib Shah’s shrine in Kemari, said the closure of the shrines due to covid19 has severely affected business. Earlier, he said, a visitor or pilgrim could happily spend Rs 5,000 to Rs 15,000 on langar. But now, as few people who manage to visit the shrines prefer to bring a cooked langar from their home, food centers like Pappu’s are in trouble.

Pappu says most people who work in shrines are now considering moving to something more reliable that will not be as easily affected by the covid19 restrictions.

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