Festive shopping is in full swing in the bylanes of Walled City. Eid is just a few days away and women are busy readying their colourful suits and bangles to don the perfect look on the big day.

Men, too, are eying the latest kaifiyeh and skull caps to go with their Lucknow chikan kurtas. This time though, heavy rains dampened the spirit of the holy month of Ramzan and everyone's out to make last-minute preparations.

While the downpour that cooled off temperatures was a welcome relief for those observing a fast everyday, the nightriders of Walled City had to let go of their share of adrenaline rush. So instead of taking out their bikes on potholed roads lined by overflowing sewers, they chose to have some harmless fun at the carrom and snooker centres that mushroomed this season. These have become hotspots for the men, who start trickling in immediately after the isha namaaz and taraweeh - special prayer offered only during Ramzan.

A regular at one of the dimly-lit carrom centres in Chitli Qabar area, Tariq paints houses. He is busy sprucing up people's homes and after all the hard work he likes to round off the day with a game of carrom. Most others sitting around the board are strangers whom he meets only at the club. One of them is Aziz, who runs a cloth shop in the area. Aziz comes to test his striking skills at night - the only time when he gets a break from the "haggling" customers. Luckily, the two didn't have to wait for long this time as one of the carrom-boards is free.

The duo is joined by brothers Altaaf and Aslam, who closed their mobile repair shop early today. None of the two teams wants to give the first strike to Tariq or Aslam - who, by now, are famous for pocketing all the discs in just one go. Finally, a toss of the coin ends the dilemma and everyone orders for a hot cup of tea.

As the game begins, it's time for some engaging conversations too. Two shots into the match and everyone in the room is drowned in discussion. From the city's preparedness for the Commonwealth Games to Pakistani cricketers' involvement in match-fixing to the debate over the construction of a mosque at ground zero in New York to the deteriorating quality of khajla and pheni (sahari staples) served by popular sweet shops in the vicinity - the topics seem to change with each strike.

Unable to claim the queen, Tariq remarks that the prized disc is proving as elusive as the two Muslim MLAs of the area. This Ramzan, they have apparently turned a blind eye to the bumpy roads, flowing sewers and filth that mark the localities. On being asked if their legislators are not around to take care of the situation, Afaque, who seemed engrossed in his match answers from another board, "they are very much around, in fact omnipresent, much to everyone's surprise. But sadly only on the hoardings wishing everyone; for Ramzan and Eid". The grin on everyone's face is unmistakable.