Karachi Sunday Birds Market

[saud]

There was some interest in this topic particularly from our friends outside Karachi. Following is some more info and my views on the market.

I discovered the Sunday market as a child just passing by one Friday around 1986. It used to be a Friday market then and held at a slightly different location. At the time I was interested in keeping chickens & Budgies. Every few weeks I would ask my father to take me there. It felt like a visit to the zoo.

I believe that the Sunday market has played a very important in the development of the bird keeping hobby in Karachi. It is a place for hobbyists, small breeders, commercial breeders, margin traders and shopkeepers to come together and trade in a free market. Small breeders benefit by cutting out the middle man and selling directly to hobbyists, for the hobbyist it is a source of good birds directly from the breeder at a reasonable price, for exporters this is great place to fill their orders. The market also caters to the other needs of the visitors. You will find cages, food and water containers, clay pots, bird seeds, loucern, corn etc

In the market you will find all varieties of budgies, cockatiels, lovebirds, pigeons, green ringneccks, desi chickens, finches, doves and even goats and aquaruium fish.

The market has its limitations though.

You will not find the more expensive varieties like ringneck mutations, greys, Eclectus Cockatoos etc there. Although occasionally there will be some one there with a bird or two it is not the place to get these birds.

The market has no official status with the city administration. To them it is a nuisance. It is not well organised. Currently it is held on the side of a bridge and in crowded streets. When the city administration clamps down it shifts to another location a block or two away.

You need to beware of your wallet. You could lose it in the crowd if you are not careful.

I believe that every major city should have a weekly market like this. I don't know how it all started in Karachi but with a little work it could also be organised in other cities. It is just a matter of putting the seed in the ground and getting the word around.

I would request the Karachi friends to post some pictures of the market if they have any. If not I will take some the next time I visit and post on this thread.

Regards

[usaid ahmed]

Very well written

the point regarding the exotic mutations is a worthy one
In the past,this market was held at a proper place near Daak Khana chowrangi but the residents there complained to the council who had it shifted to the current awful location.
In addition to the above mentioned birds,i have also seen woodpeckers,owns,falcons,snakes,rabbits,francolins and partridges brought here as well.

When i entered the hobby,i did not have anyone to guide me be it a friend or relative.So my source of information was initially based on talking to fanciers who visited the market.For the first 6 months,i visited the market every Sunday and would spend 4 to 6 hours just observing and hearing what was going on while i searched around for desired birds.Later onwards,Tahir Mahmood played a big role in teaching me the rules of the market as well as ways of tackling the different type of persons who come there.
In my opinion,if it was not for this market then fanciers would be forced to buy from shops only.It was through this market that i got to meet genuine breeders/sincere friends

regards
Usaid Ahmed

[usaid ahmed]

Here are two pictures to describe the term jaal wala and explain the ways of our broker cum dealers



The first picture shows us a typical holding box which the dealer uses for storing his acquisitions from the market.The notebook is used to keep track of pairs bought and money paid for them whereas the net or jaal is used by the assisting broker for transferring the purchased birds into the holding cage.



The second picture is a closeup shot which illustrates the group of varieties housed together in the top floor of the holding cage.As we can see,all the main varieties like normals,opalines,cinnamons,dominant pieds,recessive pieds,spangles are present.In addition,some rare birds like yellow faces and dilutes can also be seen.




Its a pity that i dont have more pictures to share from the market as i have not visited it for a while now due to C.A classes on Sunday.

regards
Usaid Ahmed

[fahad2610]

Very interesting!

[AWAN]

Great info and this show much hard work is done by author of post and he remind his childhood sweet memories.

So Sweet

[Muhammad Faisal]

Dear Saud,

Thanks for refreshing my childhood sweet memories attached with Karachi (1977-1988)

Regards

[usaid ahmed]

Finally i was able to take pictures of the Sunday Market today

The market starts from the bridge and keeps going a fair distance till the railway tracks. More than 80% of the market is based around trading of birds.
IMG0025A.jpg

The last portion of the market is divided in two areas near the railway track, one is taken up by exporters who buy in bulk quantity at jaal rates (prevailing rate on the day for concerned variety whereas the other area is used for trading of livestock i.e goats and cows
IMG0023A.jpg

The shops at ground floor level are providing seeds, cages and other accessories. Across them on the road path, temporary shops/thelas are placed to trade birds, feed and all related products/accessories.

IMG0024A.jpg

Without doubt, the most crowded and busy area of the market is right in the middle i.e masjid wali galli where the majority of traders are fanciers, brokers and shopkeepers.
IMG0022A.jpg

regards

[Azam jamal]

Amazing information and this market is loving since my childhood I was wondering to visit but never got a chance no I am big enough to see this amazing, informative,curious, etc place ...by own ......and happy to see all people gather other to sell buy etc ........and a flourishing hobby for the people of no enjoyment in Karachi according to the state security..... good one

[sonaray]

Its an old desire to visit this market, heard about it in 90's since then looking for a chance to visit it.

[kw1997]

Like everything else, our city planners have failed to provide a propper place (like a ground) to hold these markets. In the Arab world theu have a designated place with proper lighting and other facilities to hold such markets. The best among them are In Kuwait where a huge area is reserved outside the city for "Haraj" (junk/second hand market) and the "Suk Al- tayoor (bird bazar). the city then harges people for stalls and other facilities and provides people an area to do business.