I am working during the mornings and seeing friends in the evening here. It always feels bizarre to be back in Karachi where I spent over 10 years of my adult life building my first company.

Now it feels like being a tourist in my memories. It’s familiar but different. I don’t have an urge to change anything as I have embraced the fact that it’s not my world. Most of the stuff here is dysfunctional but everyone’s accepted it for what it is.

I work from a cafe which has good internet and air conditioning, spending €10 a day on coffee there. For food I want to eat Pakistani soul food but the cafe is fancy and only serves continental food, so I go to where the construction workers eat and have a hearty meal for less than a €1.

The incredulity of a 10x difference in prices where different classes of people eat almost everyday left unquestioned.

Talking to my friends I see the negativity has grown. Times are tough and life is hard, I hear people around me say. I am not here to judge but I can see the times must be tough for the labour class at-least.

I have to work harder to keep my optimistic shield on when I am in Karachi but there are a few street food sellers that help me keep the optimism. Best of which is a small tea shop which gave free breakfast to anyone who asked for it every morning. I found out about him 15 years ago and have been going there ever since to eat breakfast and help him however I can.

I was glad to see that his small tea shop has now grown to 3 shops next to each other which provide free breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Karachi is the mad max of today. For the 15 million people here, the government has no authority. Instead the people who live here define the city. Mafias and charity’s provide the public infrastructure from water and garbage collection to ambulances and mortuaries.

This small tea shop and its owners have done one thing well. Ignore all the noise, keep their heads down and do what they believe is right i.e to feed the needy. With no advertisement, I am happy to see the generosity of the people of Karachi has grown instead of shrank as is evident by the 3 shops instead of 1.

I don’t have words to explain Karachi and all that it encompasses but the city with all its violence, crime, filthiness and at the same time hospitality, opportunities, food will still always hold a special place in my heart.