Some 400 devotees gathered at Nazrul Park to offer Eid-ul-Zuha namaaz on Sunday morning. The meet was organised by Salt Lake and New Town Harmony Association and leading the prayers was Maulana Khurshid Alam of Karulibazaar mosque in Baruipur.
Devotees offer namaaz at Nazrul Park. Telegraph photo
The maulana began by giving instructions on how to perform the namaaz, followed by a prayer to rid them all from anger and jealously and negative emotions. This, he said, would lead to happy and prosperous lives.
“During Eid-ul-Fitr namaz earlier this year, we all got drenched as it started raining. Luckily, this time the weather was beautiful and clear. Many say if we should put up sheds for the prayers but we decided not to as prayers should always be offered in the open,” said Mir Golam Nabi, secretary of the Harmony association.
Rebecca Begum was ready to leave the park as soon as the prayers concluded. “I still have a lot of work left at home, though preparations started yesterday. We prepare a variety of sewai today but our specialty is the one we make with coconut. Everyone loves it,” smiled the resident of BF Block in New Town. “We also have a variety of chicken and mutton kebabs, Mutton Rezala and biryani. Our relatives and friends would visit, including non-Muslim friends and neighbours. We would share and exchange food with them all.”
It was Nahura Sheikh’s first time praying at this venue and she was pleased. “My family would come here but I never managed to come with them,” smiled the GD Block resident as she tried to take a picture with her husband and two sons. “Today is all about family and friends. We always stay home and enjoy the different delicacies that we prepare,” she added.