“6.46 p.m. we will break the fast” Mehrun Ismail, the gracious lady of the Hajeemoosa family informs me. I am excited because in more than a decade this is my first Iftar invitation in Temple Town.
As soon as I ring the door bell, I am welcomed by a riot of bright colours, smiles, hugs and varied aromas. Different adjectives play in my mind to describe how the members of Ismail Omar’s family, that runs the 138 years old Hajeemoosa Pvt.Ltd., look and feel after a day’s fast. I encounter only energy and excitement. Everyone lends a helping hand in setting up the much-awaited Iftar feast.
Ismail’s sons, Zaid and Samad, make place for everyone. Their respective spouses Sharmeen and Saniya place the cutlery and lay out the dishes under the watchful eyes of their mother-in-law Mehrun. The most invigorated member of course is Zaid’s daughter, 18 months old Samaya.
There is an instant sense of happiness in the family get-together. The men who usually return late every night from work are back home early and when guests drop in -- invited or unexpected -- the joy of sharing multiplies.
“Bonding, social or personal, happens best during the holy month of Ramadan,” Mehrun chips in between.
“The basic idea behind keeping daily roza is to inculcate a sense of self-restraint and purification,” says Mehrun, who wakes up her family at 3.30 a.m to eat the pre-dawn meal consisting of chapattis, curd, eggs, bananas and more fruits of their choice. Just as it is important to fast from sunrise to sunset, it is equally important to eat before day break and break the fast after sunset with food and drink and offer prayers more number of times, she says.
Now it is sunset and the house grows quiet. Hands raised and heads lowered, everyone prays. The silence is interrupted with, “Ma, it is time!” and immediately a tray full of Ajwan and Kudri dates from Madina and Tunisian fresh dates is passed around. Raisins and dry fruits, glasses of water, falooda sherbet (made with chilled milk, Roohafza and chia seeds) and kiwi juice do the rounds. Traditionally, one is supposed to eat dates along with juice, milk or water to break the fast as it is believed that Prophet Mohammad ate three dates when he broke his roza.
The lavish spread of food starts appealing the taste buds as ravenous eaters now gather around the dining table and pairs of hands start attacking the elaborate meal. It starts with light snacks including mutton samosas, mutton patties, chicken cutlets, veg spring rolls and wantons, corn fritters, vadais and pakodas.
Prepared to perfection, the joy of eating unites everybody as Mehrun is always in a state of readiness with a variety of items for hosting unexpected guests. Even as the snacks begin to fill me up, the bigger meal platter looks even more appetising. There is the traditional South Indian nombu kanji, along with chicken gravy and rice, mughlai veg pulao, barbequed whole chicken, grilled fish, pita bread with humus and other dips. Fruit salad, cheesecake and chocolate soufflé follow.
The evening with an awesome feast like this is an event. “It is special because everybody looks forward to the food after the day’s restrain and guests who come also expect something big. But some evenings we only prepare one vegetarian curry or non-veg dish with rice or chapatti for the main meal or tweak the snacks with sandwich, soup and kebabs,” notes Mehrun. Bristling with tasty delicacies, the Iftar meal turns out to be exquisitely wonderful. I feast, bond and love the positivity surrounding the evening with my friend, Mehrun, and her family. “When you are morally inclined to your creator, you have the courage and patience to experience what is hunger and what is thirst and you can discipline yourself in any way,” she says. Since Ramadan also encourages actions of generosity and compulsory charity (zakat), on many days Mehrun opens her fast with children at orphanages and old age homes and also donates clothes and other necessary items and distributes food among the poor. “Fasting without charity has no purpose, it becomes dieting then,” she says.
Soaked in different culture – and also calories -- I return appreciating their commitment to greater good, the ability to redirect the heart and practice self-discipline, sacrifice and empathy for those who are less fortunate.
Ramadan
Ramadan is determined by the lunar Islamic calendar and is observed as a month of fasting by every practising Muslim. According to Islamic beliefs, it commemorates the first revelation of the Quran to Prophet Mohammed. The fasting period includes abstaining from consuming food, drinking fluids, any sinful behaviour or a purge of toxic words, thoughts, attitudes and moods and the increased offering of salat (prayers) and the recitation of the Quran.
Each day, before dawn, Muslims observe a pre-fast meal called the suhur and begin the first prayer of the day, Fajr, at sunrise. This is followed by Duhar, the noon prayer and Asar, the early afternoon prayer. Maghrib is the prayer offered just after the fast-breaking iftar at sunset. This is followed by Isha, usually after finishing dinner and the last and longest prayer, Tarawih, is the special Ramadan night prayer.
