Around 500 people had congregated for namaz early on June 29 morning as Id-ul-Zoha was observed at Nazrul Park last week.
Maulana Khurshid Alam had come from Karulibazaar mosque in Baruipur to conduct the prayers. Separate enclosures were made for male and female devotes.
“Today’s celebrations are a reminder of Ibrahim’s sacrifice,” said Mir Golam Nabi, secretary of Salt Lake and New Town Harmony Association that had organised the meet. “Allah had asked Ibrahim to sacrifice that which was most precious to him. Ibrahim decided to sacrifice his son but pleased with him, Allah replaced the son with a dumba, a kind of sheep.”
Arham Nabi had come from Garia to attend the namaz with his family. “I have shifted to Garia recently but my parents stay in Salt Lake. I came here last night to offer the prayer with my family and spend the day with them.”
Namaaz being offered at Central Park. Shatadipa Bhattacharya
As per tradition, Nazira Parveen said they would make a goat sacrifice later in the day. “We would also follow the tradition of sharing. The qurbani has to be divided into three parts, of which one part is distributed to the poor, one part among relatives and the remainder is for the family. Later in the evening, our family and friends would gather and we would be making kheer,” she smiled.
This year, keeping the weather in mind, the organisers had put up sheds so everyone could offer their prayers sheltered from the sun. “We usually perform namaaz in the open, but given how sultry the weather has been these last few days, we decided to put up sheds so that even if it rains we can focus on performing our prayers rather than worrying about the weather,” added Nabi.
Sheikh Jellar Rehman has stopped going to his native place in Burdwan and is coming here since last year. “This is a beautiful environment for namaz. It is clean and peaceful, the crowd is good and the arrangement is nice. It is also not always possible to return home for the occasion. We are happy we could find a nice venue here,” said the Kestopur resident.