The fast ends, feast begins

After a month of fasting, it is now the time for joy and thanksgiving. Various areas in the City are bustling with activity as people prepare to celebrate the new moon. Salma, a student says, “This is the most important festival in the Muslim calendar and families come together to celebrate this festival. It is called the festival of brotherhood not just because all Muslims come together, but because we make sure to include non-Muslims in our celebrations as well.”

Id is the time when the entire family comes together to say their prayers and pay their respects to their deceased kin. It is the time for shopping, eating and decorating one’s house with new goods. Sekar, who works at a flower stall says, “People, especially women buy lots of flowers before Id. It is mostly roses and jasmine flowers that sell during this time as they like to decorate their houses and also wear it in their hair. Families also buy the flower chaadar for their dargah visits. There are a lot of orders for flowers a couple of days before Id.”

And how could Id be complete without food. Stalls and shops open up in the evenings selling all kinds of delicacies from fried foods to sweets to biryanis and drinks. Sajid Khan, owner of Delhi Sweets in Shivajinagar says, “For Id, the special item on sale is khova which is used in desserts like kheer, firni and sevai. Other desserts that people like to buy are dishes like carrot halwa, pumpkin halwa, bread-fruit halwa, gulab jamun, rasmalai, rasagulla and other Bengali sweets.”

Food is an integral part of every Muslim family’s celebration. “At home, the women prepare keema balls, biryani, chicken dishes and sweets from the morning itself. After namaaz, we distribute the biryani to all our non-Muslim friends and neighbours. We take blessings from our elders and everyone is dressed in new clothes and the children are very happy,” adds Sajid.

A week or two before Id, garment stores are packed with people shopping for clothes. Every person, young and old, gets a whole new wardrobe by the end of Ramzan. Imtiaz, a garment shop owner says, “Women love to buy the anarkali style salwars in bright colours. Pink and green are the colours most popular this time. Sequinned chiffon saris and ghagras are also the in thing this season.

Kurtas for men and boys and lehengas for little girls are preferred. People shop till late at night and even into the hours of early morning so we are almost work for the entire day.
The values of brotherhood, love, friendship, respect and kindness form a beautiful bond in one of the most important festivals in the country which is celebrated by people all over.