"Dekhte hi muh mein pani aa jayega customer ka..." — a middle-aged man says in the Instagram Reel, beaming with with pride as he shows off the hot puris being fried and served in his shop, leaving every one "salivating". If the video did not say the locality is Bangla Bazar in Karachi's Orangi, it would have been difficult to guess the place — for the man speaks in a dialect that clearly establishes him as someone from India's Bihar.
Well, he is a Bihari indeed — his family among the thousands who migrated to erstwhile East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) after Partition in 1947, and then to Pakistan after the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971.
They came with little physical belongings, but brought the taste of Bihar along with them, and have been spreading the flavour ever since they were able to restart life in the faraway land.
Orangi has come to be known as Karachi's 'Mini Bihar', and Bangla Bazar is famous for the eating joints selling Bihari fares — especially the 'Bihari boti' and 'Bihari kebab', besides biriyani, pulao, and other items. Unlike other places, the botis and kebabs here are served with puris with a stuffing of lentils, a combination unique to Orangi.
Some of the shops have been serving 'Bihari boti' and 'daal-puris' for nearly four decades now.
Commenting on the Insta Reel cited above, a user writes: "The Bihari community in Pakistan, particularly in Karachi, is known for its rich cultural heritage and strong sense of identity. They have significantly contributed to the city's diverse cultural landscape, particularly in the areas of cuisine, language, and traditions, while also playing a vital role in the social and economic fabric of Karachi."
The viewers cannot seem to get over the "Bihari accent" of the man seen in the video.
"Accent to abhi tak same 2 same hai," says one user, with another posting: "I am surprised he still has that distinct bihari accent."
A third user finds his "Bihari tone" matching the accent heard in Patna.
Take a look at the video here:
There are other videos too from Orangi, featuring its Bihari food.
On popular Pakistani food vlogger Zia Tabarak's YouTube channel Street Food PK, one of the cooks shares the ingredients used in the kebabs — cinnamon, whole mace, cloves, cardamom, mustard oil — without divulging the quantity and ratio.
"Nobody (else) can make this masala," asserts one vendor, while another shares that lentils are mixed with keema to make the kebabs.
The price ranges from Pakistani Rs 30 (a little more than Rs 9 in Indian currency) per piece of kebab to Rs 160 for a plate of 'chicken boti' serve with 2 puris or parathas.
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Orangi, The 'Mini Bihar' In Karachi
Karachi's Orangi is a large settlement notable for its unique history connected to Partition. Established as a sprawling, low-income neighbourhood, Orangi grew as an informal housing area for migrants from different regions of Pakistan and nighbouring India.
The Bihari population in Orangi is a significant and often underrepresented community that migrated in waves following the Partition of India in 1947 and, more dramatically, after the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. During Partition, many Urdu-speaking Biharis —Muslim communities from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal — moved to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) from India. These Biharis faced backlash and isolation after the Bangladesh Liberation War, during which they had sided with the Pakistani military. Following Bangladesh’s independence, they faced hostility, exclusion, and displacement, often termed "traitors" and considered “stranded Pakistanis” by the new Bangladeshi state.
In response, many Biharis sought refuge in Pakistan, making Karachi, particularly Orangi, a focal point for their settlement.
According to a report published in Dawn, nearly 15,000 Biharis arrived in Karachi between 1977 and 1982, with the last batch of refugees — 53 families in all — joining them in 1993, the year Pakistan stopped accepting any more refugees amid protests to stop the process.
They all came with minimal resources and little support from either the Bangladeshi or Pakistani governments. Facing economic hardships and struggling to integrate into Karachi’s socio-political landscape, many of these families ended up in Orangi thanks to the low-priced undeveloped land there, and livelihood opportunities to restart their lives. With a large majority of them having settled there, the place instilled a sense of community, though ethnic conflicts and riots in Karachi in the 1980s and 1990s did not spare them, with the Qasba-Aligarh Colony Massacre that took place in December 1986 particularly targeting the Biharis in Orangi.
Over time, however, the Bihari community played a role in shaping the identity of Orangi as a multi-ethnic urban hub. Despite years of marginalisation, they maintained their culture, traditions, their unique dialect, and food identity.