Ramzan brings day fasting, midnight feasting!

Lucknow, Oct 23: The holy month of Ramzan has beckoned day fasting with midnight feasting in Lucknow this time round too! The nights in the 'City of Nawabs' are again abuzz with midnight feasting and shopping on till the time of 'sehri' -- that marks the start of a day's roza (fast).

With Eid round the corner, shops in the serpentine lanes in Old City areas remain open during Ramzan under the moon-light to welcome shoppers, a centuries old tradition that refuses to die.

Markets in Akbari Gate, Dargah Hazrat Abbas, Saadatganj, Nakhas, Kashmiri Mohalla, Maulvi Ganj and Victoria Street have stayed put with the legacy. The outlets lining their streets are chock-a-block in the night, as the daytime in Ramzan.

Lucknow boasts of a sizeable Muslim population comprising both Shia and Sunni sects.

The old-age charm and nostalgia overwhelms as one strolls down the dusty pathway on a cold October night with the aroma of delectable kebabs and biryani, colourful 'topis', burqas, perfumery and ornaments presenting an illusion of a bygone Nawabi era.

For pampering the taste-buds of rozedars, scrumptious variety of kebabs viz seekh, shami, kakori, boti, besides sewain (vermicelli) and other Awadhi cuisine like nahari, kulcha, phirni are available.

Interestingly, burqa-clad women make most of the occasion during Ramzan to venture out in late hours and splurge in preparation for the most pious day in Islamic calendar.

A spectacular feature of these mid-night bazaars is that most shopkeepers donate a part of their earnings to adjacent mosques, as Ramzan exhorts for acts of charity.

However, the modern city malls and outlets are not too far behind in wooing customers at their threshold, albeit during daytime, with Eid in sight. In wake of the festival season, shopkeepers are giving heavy discounts to loosten the purse-strings of people, while the shoppers are trying to scoop the best bargain in their favour.

Youth Shia leader Meesam Ali Hussain told UNI that Ramzan is the ideal period to foster communal harmony, since both Deepawali and Id fall around the same time.

''Deepawali contains 'Ali' in the end, while Ramzan begins with 'Ram'. This in itself signifies the unifying nature of our festivals,'' he observed.

All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) member Zafaryab Jilani feels such night 'bazaars' would continue till the people held favourable opinion of them.

''Such markets are akin to other old city areas at other places with Muslim population such as Delhi, Hyderabad and Bhopal, apart from Lucknow. However, the kind of communal amity and cordiality witnessed in the UP capital is unmatched elsewhere,'' he claimed.

Mr Jilani maintained that this tradition would only get stronger with time, because such markets are mainly patronised by people coming from middle or lower middle class backgrounds.

Interestingly, 'Iftar' -- a feast to break roza by a devout Muslim -- are increasingly being hosted by Hindus too apart from politicians of all hues.

These are not only attended by 'rozedars', even the majority community members join their Muslim brethren to observe the ritual with piety.

Instances are not far and few between where a Hindu has observed roza. On line of Diwali melas, several Eid Melas are organised around this time of year, thus helping to strengthen communal fabric.

UNI