Islamabad: The few Pakistani Hindus, who

have made the federal capital their home, will miss splashing

colours at each other as they brace up for a quiet Holi.

Many of the Hindus, most of whom are businessmen from

Sindh province, have taken on Muslim names and lead rather

discreet lives here.

"We have two Eids, too. One is Diwali, the other is Holi.

We celebrate both the festivals in Karachi," Kumar, who runs

the popular Maharani Handicraft shop in Super Market, told

PTI.

It is not that Kumar or any of his brethren are harassed

by the majority Muslim community, yet they like to lie low.

"No one has ever threatened us. But we don`t let people

know that we are not Muslims," said Kumar, who greeted this

reporter in his shop with `As-salam-alaikum`.

"The Holi colours are available at Aabpara. If somebody

wants, they can play at home or they can go to a temple in

Rawalpindi where they play Holi each year".

The best handicraft shops in Super and Jinnah Super

Islamabad`s two most popular markets are owned by Kumar`s

relatives or fellow Sindhis from Karachi.

Girish, owner of another famous handicraft shop in Super

market, has two names -- one, a Muslim name which he gives out

to customers and the other, his real name which he reveals to

those whom he can trust.

Girish broke the rules last Holi by organising a get-

together for his friends in Super. They splashed `gulal`

outside his shop, but this year no celebrations have been

planned.

Unfortunately, the other `Eid` that Kumar spoke about

Diwali too is not celebrated in Islamabad.

"We usually go home (to Sindh) for Diwali. But for the

past couple of years, we haven`t been able to do that because

Ramzan and Diwali come around at the same time. That is peak

business time for us and we cannot shut shop," Kumar said.

Crackers are not sold in Islamabad for security reasons,

and in a one-off incident, Kumar`s friend who burst a cracker

in a market a year ago was arrested.

"He was released after we convinced the policemen that

the cracker was burst to celebrate Diwali," he said.

Another handicrafts shop is owned by a medical doctor.

"We are seven brothers, we are all doctors. As there is

not much money in practising medicine, we are all doing

business," he said while handing out his visiting card.

Since most Westerners have either left or do not visit

market places anymore, business has been unusually down for

them.

Most Hindus are dressed in pant-shirt as opposed to the

traditional shalwar-kurtas that most Pakistanis wear.

At Indus, a shop at Jinnah Super famous for its carpets,

the shop helper gives out his real name rather reluctantly.

"A lot of Indians come to our shop, and sometimes we get

harassed," he said.

PTI