KARACHI: Members of the old British rock group Mungo Jerry who sang the classic ‘In the summertime when the weather is high’ or other people who look forward to summer for fun under the sun need to come to Karachi during this time of year for a reality check.

With your forehead dripping with sweat and perspiration rolling down your cheeks, you won’t even know whether you are crying or sweating, or both. The heat drives many to tears. What do you do then? Well, people have learned to endure besides taking some measures to remedy the heat.

Karachi experiences harsh summers but it has also been blessed with the sea. So most citizens beat the heat by heading to the beach in the evenings when the sun is setting and the sand has cooled down. A gentle sea breeze helps you forget the day’s misery. Getting the feet wet in the tides coming in also feels great.

And for those unable to pick themselves up and go to the beach, there is always one odd broken water pipeline in every other town to bathe in. You find children and grown-ups, too, unable to resist the cool water.

Water is not just for bathing, it is also for drinking, of course, for temperature regulation. And so there are all those roadside sherbet carts offering a variety of cool concoctions. The red sherbet, lemonade, sattu drink, sugar cane, falsa and watermelon juice ... all prove to be lifesavers as a glass for Rs20 to Rs60 is not that costly and extremely refreshing.

Besides fresh juices, many vendors also offer you a variety of fruits. Juicy sugar cane peeled and cut into pieces and the mouthwatering falsa are there for eating. Watermelon is the best of all to save one from the heat as well as dehydration.

Cold gola ganda made from crushed ice and with pieces of fruit and sweet syrup and condensed milk is also something to chew on during the summer. The best place to grab a bowl in Karachi will have to be Dhoraji. Of course there is kulfi and ice cream, too, but gola ganda offers a fusion of tastes that everyone who endures the summer deserves to experience.

Just a couple of years back Karachi experienced one of its worst heatwaves. Over 2,000 people died of heatstroke and the health department had to issue special directives to prevent further cases. Volunteers distributed bottles of water and boxes of juices. People were advised to remain in the shade and keep themselves hydrated. Street animals and many in the Karachi Zoo, too, were affected as the temperature shot up to 49 degrees centigrade.

There have been warnings about a similar heatwave for this year as well. And that combined with electricity loadshedding and water shortage has the potential to unleash more misery on the residents of Karachi.

Published in Dawn, May 21st, 2017