Hindus fast with Muslim friends this Ramzan

As Muslims across Bengaluru have been fasting in the holy month of Ramzan, some of their Hindu friends are keeping them company, literally. 

Harish, who works for a multinational, is planning to observe ‘roza’ (fast) for a week along with a Muslim colleague. “I never got the opportunity to observe the fast during Ramzan with anyone before. Nevertheless I am already feeling good about it,” he said. 

Harish said his colleague had been telling him the dos and don’ts of the fast. “I don’t think I will be able to observe roza for more than a week as it requires the body to be accustomed and trained accordingly. I feel that it is an act that will bring one closer to oneself. Religion is just a word and there is no single path to God. It is your right to choose what makes you and others happy,” he said philoso­phically. 

Religious significance

Maimoonisa, Harish’s colleague, has already told him about the various practices followed during the fasting period along with their religious significance. “I have told him about the practice of cleansing or wazu (ablution) and observing prayers. But since the prayers are in Arabic, I don’t think he will engage in them,” she said. 

According to Maimoonisa, it was nice that people were willing to forget their disagreements about religion. “Last year, a Hindu friend of mine chose to observe the fast with me and this year it is Harish. It feels nice. There is after all only one God.” 

People may think Ramzan is mainly about the lip-smacking delicacies, but participation in the exercise of fasting could be quite strenuous for someone who has not done it before, as Arun Shekhar, an architect who used to fast along with his classmates during his college days, explains. 

“I had observed the roza for a week in my college days with my friends and it was quite hard to go the entire length. Nevertheless, breaking the fast at dawn along with one’s friends was a very nice and interesting experience.” With as many as 90 per cent of his friends being Muslims, Shekhar said he would fast this year, too.