By: Abu Zafar Adil Azmi
After a complete year when sound of particular sirens heard in Jama Masjid, area of old Delhi, people stop eating, drinking and begin first fast. They rushed to neighborhood mosque as soon as they listen the call (Adhan). Tiny little children holding their father's fingers came to the mosque. They also woke up four hours earlier than usual with elders in their home. Mom explained million times to them that they are still young to fast, but they did not listen and keep fast.
According to Syed Affaf Qadri Nadvi, an Islamic cleric of Delhi, “Ramadhan is the ninth month of Islamic calendar , which begin after sighting of the crescent moon. This month is called holy month for Muslims because Quran was revealed during Ramadhan. Fasting is compulsory for Muslims in this month living throughout the world.”
There are different environment in Muslims populated area like Jama Masjid, Okhla, Jamia Nagar and Seelam Pur in Delhi. From dawn till dusk and from dusk till dawn, the spiritual environment is conducive for nurturing piety. Mosques full of worshipers, hotels are closed at day time and the Iftar market in evening all of these make a different environment. The Adhan and sounds of sirens are the bench mark of starting and breaking the fast.
80-year-old retired Teacher Mohammad Anis Siddiqui recall his memory and said “I’ve been listening voices of sirens in Delhi since 1955. But sometimes people would not get up. So now there are different trends going on some where announcements are made through mosques and at some places some people voluntarily walks to homes of a locality and announce this is dawn,time to eat ‘Sehar’. At some places people sing ‘Naat’ from mosque’s loudspeaker to woke people.
India is big country geographically spread from North to South and east to west. East to west is one hour earlier . This is why the time of Iftar and sehar in West Bengal and Assam, the eastern part of country is one hour earlier than Rajasthan, Gujarat, and the western part of country.
Handmade sewaii(vermicelli),made of wheat is the favourite dish of Delhites & northern part. But now there is no handmade Sewai or jiggery.” Said Abdul Qayyum a 70 years old farmer from Azamgarh. But now situation is totally changed, Taha a management graduate said “I like ‘feni’(milk cake) , vegetables and paratha at sehar time.”
Urban people from cities already sleep late in night but in the Ramzan period it extend more. So some people take sehar meal at late night and then sleep.
Liquid mixture of grinded coconut, cashew nut, and almond are very common at some parts of northern India like Azamgarh, Allahabad, Lucknow, Kanpur etc.
“In Maharashtra like Aurangabad Jalna and Pusad banana and milk are so popular in sehri.” Said Noor Deshmukh an engineer from ITT Delhi. But in southern part of country people like to eat date and rice. At some places ‘pao’, a special type of bread is in great demand in the month of Ramadhan and some part of eastern Utter Pradesh pao with milk is a favorite dish. Therefore bakeries try to compete making different shape and test of pao.
The schools timing is changed where the muslim students are in majority. After the fajr prayer muslim populated colonies are in silence mode. As soon as afternoon is over ,shops open and traffic is going to be jammed. In iftar market there were so many food items.
Mohammad Sajid, a student of philosophy from Jamia Millia Islamia says that ‘it seems that the Ramadhan is month of eating and drinking. Iftar and invitation for iftar was an old tradition but there were less qualities of food items as compared today.
Well known journalist MJ Akbar criticizes an iftar party,critically commenting in one of his column titling ‘A Political Iftar party in Mumbai’ according to him ‘politician’s limited brain with unlimited mischief thinks that the Iftar Party gives him an opportunity for future capitalization among the Muslim masses. It gives them the ultimate advantage of mixing with the Muslims where they can flex their political muscles without any opponent present in the ring! It provides them a pleasant platform to talk about the confluence of Ganga-Jamni tehzeeb (existence of pluralistic society) although their main aim is to garner Muslim votes. It is an attempt to showcase who is who of the politics.”
He further stated “It is a race to boost public image of the politician where parameter of power is measured on the basis of cash flow. It is a public relation exercise where each and every object of presentation (read flashbulbs, chairs, tables, plates, delicacies etc.) is chosen carefully after close scrutiny. It acts as an ointment to pacify old wounds of the Muslims! Iftar Party is like a fisherman’s net whose sole function is entrapment!”
Mosque has arrangement of iftar. Some unique cooked items are also shared in neighbors. At Kerala and Tamil Nadu, southern provinces of India most people usually break their fast in mosque and people from locality arrange it one by one. Abdul Jaleel, a political activist from Trisur district of Kerala said that every person wait for his number to arrange this iftar in local mosque and they consider it as good job. Azam Khan a journalist from Mumbai says that years before if a person like muslim seen at the time of iftar, local people invited him/her even today also it is popular in several places at Mumbai, Hyderabad, Lucknow and old Delhi but new colonies don’t follow these kind of tradition.
