Hindus in Karachi celebrate Shivratri with rice, coconut and flower

Karachi: Hundreds of Hindu devotees in Pakistan's port city of Karachi on Sunday thronged temples to celebrate the festival of Shivratri with flowers, coconut and rice.

The city's historic Shree Ratneshwar Mahadev temple in Clifton area lit up the night sky as devotees gathered to pay their tributes. The sound of drums and the traditional shankh reverbirated the air, Dawn reported on Monday.

Dressed in sarees and adorned with beautiful pieces of jewellery, scores of women on Sunday prayed for a happy married life. 

“Besides women, men fast too during Shivratri, because fasting is mandatory for all,” temple priest Maharaj Ravi Ramesh said.

The sound of drums and shankh reverberated the air as devotees holding orange banners and decorated clay pots, carrying water from the Ganges approached the temple.

“They have come here all the way from Chanesar Goth. We have been expecting them. We will bathe (the idol of) Shiva with the holy water,” said the priest.