At the mouth of Lake Manchar, gentle lapping disturbs the silence. A small boat cuts through the water, propelled by a bamboo pole scraping the muddy bottom of the canal.

Bashir Ahmed manoeuvres his frail craft with agility. His slender boat is more than just a means of transport. It is the legacy of a people who live to the rhythm of water: the Mohana. They have lived for generations on the waters of Lake Manchar in Sindh province, a vast freshwater mirror covering nearly 250 sq km. The lake, once the largest in Pakistan , was long an oasis of life. Now, it is dying.

On the opposite shore, Bashir’s father, Mohamed, the head of this community of about 50 people, waits for him. The two men settle in the shade. “We were the lords of the lake,” Mohamed says. “This water was full of fish.

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