Read, said angel Gabriel to the unlettered prophet. The revelations continued across many years. And the Glorious Quran was revealed for the entire humanity in the month of Ramadan. To this day the faithful fast from pre-dawn to dusk throughout the month, abstaining from food and water. It is a special time as evidenced following a visit to Shah Jahan’s Jama Masjid and the historic city around it. A city which is found asleep around noon, suddenly comes alive as the hours approach dusk. Doors and windows open, people step out of their home to buy goodies for iftaar, the special meal at the conclusion of the fast. Every evening the city turns beautiful and bright with the mosque decked up and eateries dotting the roads all around. The good old fritters, the inviting fresh fruit chat, dates high on nutrition and pheni and khajla soaked in ghee...life seems an assortment of delectable delights.
Then comes the siren and the muezzin pronounces the end of fast. Hundreds gather at the masjid to have community iftaar, many more do it in the privacy of their homes. The hungry bodies are refilled. A few minutes of rest and leisure, and the faithful are back. This time for special prayer, tarawi, where all the 30 chapters and 114 surahs of the holy book are recited across the month. The prayer over, people steal a few quick takes of nahari, keema and salan before it is time to hit the bed for not much more than a couple of hours. Then comes seheri, the pre-dawn meal of khajla, pheni and sweet bread. Some have curd with cardamom too. Most nibble, very few heartily eat, overcome as they are with sleep.
A little later when one cannot make out the black thread from the white under an open sky, the siren goes up again. A new day is about to dawn, a new fast begins. The lights at Jama Masjid dim, the sun shines through. People stay indoors. Only for a few hours. Then....!
