KARACHI: Eid-ul-Azha brings happiness for Hindu nomads as well as this is the time when they get mutton for which they wait the whole year. Reena, a young Hindu lady who belongs to Kokri tribe of Hindus, sitting in her makeshift house located near Ghera Mohalla along Chanesar Goth’s hustling road near Karachi’s Kala Pull area, was seen busy having lunch prepared with sacrificial mutton. She managed to get mutton on this Eid as well, and the last time she had mutton was on the last Eid ul Azha. This depicts the state of poorness of Hindu nomad families — living in the colony near Parsi Gate since Indo-Pak partition. “Eid-ul-Azha brings happiness for us as this is the time when we get mutton. We wait for the entire year for this Eid,” said Reena. They dry the meat by hanging its shreds on several wires in front of the 250 households of the community. Fat and meat pieces besides tripe pieces are very important to them. On every Eid-ul-Azha, these extremely poor families gather offal, clean them, and take out the meat for their use. They also collect sacrificial meat from nearby posh areas. First, they wash the meat and later it is sprinkled with salt to put on long ropes under hot sun. Usually it takes around 4 to 5 days to dry before it is ready to cook. Although drying meat in such polluted conditions is quite unhygienic. Gulli, a middle-aged widow living with her five children in a small one-room house, is also cooking mutton after a long interval. Her only son is sick, so along with her four daughters she runs a tuck shop outside her house to make a living. “Mutton is Rs 800 per kilogram. How we can afford such a lavish thing except on Eid. We eat mutton as beef is not allowed in our religion,” Gulli said. For Afsar Gagna Ram, a community leader and father of 8, living in two congested rooms, this Eid has proved very productive for him as he has collected around 5 kilograms meat. He is hopeful the meat could be preserved for next couple of months for their consumption. “Ee eat whatever is available,” said Afsar, adding that poor people don’t have any choices.