Chak ( Sindhi: چڪ) is a town situated on the west bank of the

Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayas, Himalayan river of South Asia, South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northw ...

Shikarpur District Shikarpur district (, ), is a district in Larkana Division of Sindh province in Pakistan. The city of Shikarpur is the district headquarters. There are 4 talukas: Lakhi, Garhi Yasin, Khanpur Tehsil and Shikarpur Tehsil itself. It is spre ...

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. It is an economic, educational, social and transport hub of the adjoining towns and villages of the region. It is home to a population of more than 40,000 people and is a fast-growing town with good literacy rate and improving infrastructure. It is home to Mahar, Soomra, Channa, Mangi's and many other tribes. Chak also has an important place in Shikarpur District politically, socially and economically. Historically, Chak had been part of

Sukkur District Sukkur District (, ) is a district in Sindh Province in Pakistan. Two districts have been split off from the territory of Sukkur: Shikarpur District, Shikarpur in 1977 and Ghotki District, Ghotki in 1993. According to 2023 Pakistani census populat ...

, but in the late 1970s it was made part of Shikarpur District. Chak shares strong economic and social ties with

Sukkur Sukkur is a city in the Pakistani province of Sindh along the western bank of the Indus River, directly across from the historic city of Rohri. Sukkur is the List of cities in Sindh by population, third largest city in Sindh after Karachi and H ...

because of the natural geographic and trade route proximity.

Etymology

''Chak'' is said to be derived from a

Sindhi language Sindhi ( ; or , ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by more than 30 million people in the Pakistani province of Sindh, where it has official status, as well as by 1.7 million people in India, where it is a Scheduled languages of India, schedu ...

word ''chakki'', meaning 'pot wheel', which is used to make pottery from clay. The clay used to be obtained from the ''cheeki matti'', the mud from inside the nearby 'Kacha' area, which is the area between two levees of the

bordering the town. It is said that there used to live many potters in the area and the town got its name from the ''chakki'' (pot wheel) used by these people.

Climate

The climate of Chak is hot and misty during summer days while cold and dry in winter. Generally the summer season commences in March–April and ends before October. January in winter chills from 2 to 27 °C. The summer temperature averages 38 °C though it often shoots up to 47 °C.

Economy

Agriculture, retailer shops, jobs in government and private organisations are the main way of living. Wholesale market is also growing up. The Bhitai Bazar & Bazar-e-Raza running through the heart of the town are the main artery of business of this small but bustling town of the locality, attracting many visitors and customers from nearby towns and villages as well. Many short bazars have also sprung up in the outskirts of the town.

Food

Chak has many food stalls, with some stalls having traditional food, and in some areas, fast food. Due to agriculture being the main work of people,

roti Roti is a round flatbread originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is commonly consumed in many South Asian, Southeast Asian, Caribbean, East African, and Southeast African countries. It is made from stoneground whole-wheat flour, kno ...

and

okra Okra (, ), ''Abelmoschus esculentus'', known in some English-speaking countries as lady's fingers, is a flowering plant in the Malvaceae, mallow family native to East Africa. Cultivated in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions aro ...

are eaten in practically every household. Examples of popular food are: *

Pakora Pakora () is a fritter originating from the Indian subcontinent. They are sold by street vendors and served in restaurants across South Asia. They often consist of vegetables such as potatoes and onions, which are coated in seasoned gram flour ...

: A fritter originating from the Indian subcontinent made of

potatoes The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

and

onions An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classified ...

, and are deep fried. *

Samosa A samosa () () (Hindi: समोसा) ( Persian: سمبوسه) is a fried South Asian and West Asian snack. It is a pastry with a savory filling that mostly consists of vegetables like spiced potatoes, onions, and peas, but can also include ...

: A samosa is a popular fried South Asian and West Asian snack, typically a triangular pastry with a savory filling. The filling commonly consists of spiced

, and

peas Pea (''pisum'' in Latin) is a pulse or fodder crop, but the word often refers to the seed or sometimes the pod of this flowering plant species. Peas are eaten as a vegetable. Carl Linnaeus gave the species the scientific name ''Pisum sativum ...

, but can also include

meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

, or

cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...

. *

Burger Burger or Burgers may refer to: Food and drink Foods * Hamburger, a food consisting of one or more cooked beef patties, placed inside a sliced bread roll or bun roll. ** Cheeseburger, a hamburger with added cheese(s) * Ground beef, minced bee ...

: Although they have the exact same name as a regular burger, the locals do have a tendency make a special version of a burger that resembles a

sandwich A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...

it is made with

aloo tikki Aloo tikki, also known as aloo ki tikkia, aloo ki tikki or alu tikki, is a vegetarian snack originating from the Indian subcontinent. In Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi preparation, it is made of boiled potatoes, peas, and various Indian s ...

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classifie ...

s and sometimes

. Chak also has many areas with different interests so some areas have different stalls.

Transport

Chak serves as a transport hub for the other towns of the locality. It is connected to

Shikarpur Shikarpur or Shakkarpur or Sikarpur may refer to the following places: India *Shikarpur, Bihar (Vidhan Sabha constituency) * Shikarpur, Gujarat, a village and Harappan archeological site in Kutch district of Gujarat * Shikarpur, Shimoga, a town in ...

and other towns via link roads leading to the National Highway (known as N-65). It is also connected to the

Indus Highway The Indus Highway (), also known as National Highway 55 (N-55) (), is a 1264 km long two to four-lane national highway that runs along the Indus River in Pakistan, connecting the port city of Karachi with the northwestern city of Peshawar ...

(known as N-55) via Rustam town. A large number of businessmen, workers, employees, students and other people commute to Sukkur daily through designated travel services of dozens of buses and more than 60 vans to Sukkur and adjoining areas.

Sukkur Airport Sukkur Airport , also known as Begum Nusrat Bhutto International Airport Sukkur, is a domestic airport located in Sukkur, Sindh, Pakistan. It is a medium-sized airport located about from the centre of Sukkur, and serves Sukkur and its surroundin ...

is at a distance of around 20 kilometres south-east. Most People use

Motorbikes A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle steered by a handlebar from a saddle-style seat. Motorcycle designs var ...

to Commute to Work or School,

buses A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

or other means of public transport to get around.

Education

Despite meager resources and poor infrastructure, many students from this small town have made it to the top colleges and universities in the country. Also many people are working in good positions in government and private organisations. There are primary and high schools for girls and boys separately. Few years back the high school for boys was upgraded to higher-secondary school. However, the quality of teaching and infrastructure to cater to the higher-secondary level have yet to be improved. Therefore, a sizeable proportion of students still commutes to

for higher-secondary education. Following are the main educational schools and centres in Chak: *Government Higher Secondary School *Government Girls High School *Government Primary School for Boys *Government Primary School for Girls *Ideal Public School *Shah Latif Public School *Al-Mustafa Public School

Libraries

* The Shah Latif Library, established in 1979 by local people on self-help basis, was the town's only library until recently. The library is named after the great

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

scholar and saint

Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai (; 1689/1690 – 21 December 1752), commonly known by the honorifics ''Lakhino Latif'', ''Latif Ghot'', ''Bhittai'', and ''Bhit Jo Shah'', was a Sindhi Sufi mystic and poet from Pakistan, widely considered to be the ...

(1689–1752), who is considered as the greatest poet of the Sindhi language. The library has a repository of thousands of books mainly donated by local people. Unfortunately, now it is in a deplorable condition as it is housed in a rented old tattered building. The town very badly needs a new library with state-of-the-art facilities. * Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Library, established in 2004, is a welcome addition as it was the long-standing demand of the town. The library still does not have the basic information technology and

e-learning Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as edutech, or edtech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning and teaching. When referred to with its abbreviation, "EdTech" ...

infrastructure and needs to be upgraded so that the growing student population of the town can be connected to other national and international libraries electronically and be part of the increasingly knowledge-based and connected society. * Sathi library, also established on self-help basis in 2004, is based at the Humbah locality of the town. Despite its limited capacity, it is providing much needed services to a large number of students.

Sufi soul of the town

Chak had been largely immune from the religious extremism and intolerance, as has been the case with

in general. There have been many

saints in the area, whose shrines are located mainly in Hazrat Humbah, Chak. People from all religious affiliations pay homage to these saints year-round, especially during the annual Urs. Apart from The Shah Latif Library and Bhitai Bazar, there are many shops, retailers and a school named after

in town, which shows the attachment of the local folk with the great Sufi saint and Sufism. Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai's message of ''peace and prosperity not only at home but all the world'', which is even more relevant today than ever before, is beautifully portrayed by his most famous verses translated below: Oh God! May ever You on Sindh
bestow abundance rare;
Beloved! All the world let share
Thy grace, and fruitful be.

Places of interest

Shrines of

saints in Hazrat Humbah – especially during the annual

Urs Urs (from ''‘Urs'') or Urus (literal meaning wedding), is the death anniversary of a Sufi saint, usually held at the saint's dargah (shrine or tomb). In most Sufi orders such as Naqshbandiyyah, Suhrawardiyya, Chishtiyya, Qadiriyya, etc. ...

, the death anniversary of a Sufi saint held at the saint's shrine. The

is a grand affair in town, where people from all walks of life from Chak and surrounding villages make a determined effort to attend. The

lasts for three days. The musical gatherings are the central event of the Urs, where disciples and singers gather around and sing passages from verses of the saints. The anniversary is also marked by food fairs, open-air markets selling traditional Sindhi ware, and entertaining and competitive sports. (such as, volleyball, hockey, and Cricket)

References

{{coord missing, Sindh Populated places in Shikarpur District