This year, the Id-ul-Fitr namaz will be read in the open at the New Town fairground near Biswa Bangla Gate.
“Namaz reading in public started in New Town last year in April, when the NKDA (Newtown Kolkata Development Authority) offered us the air-conditioned community centre in Action Area 1. But the essence of offering namaz is to do so in the open so that more people can join. So the Id-ul-Zoha prayers later in the year took place on a field beside Axis Mall. This time we got permission to do so at the fairground,” said Syed Humayun Siraj, the minority affairs subcommittee convenor of the New Town Citizens’ Fraternity (NTCF). The permission from NKDA to NTCF covers both Id-ul-Fitr and Id ul Zoha prayers.
Since it would be held early in the morning, the heat is expected to be bearable. The date has not been declared yet but is expected to be around April 11 or 12. “We are expecting about 1,500 participants on the day,” Siraj added.
On Sunday, about 225 residents of New Town broke fast at an iftar gathering at the community hall of Balaka Abasan. Sharp at 5.56pm, the men sat down in facing rows on the ground while the women did so behind a curtain. On paper plates were served a date, grapes, half a banana, devilled egg and sundry fries. Before that, rose syrup was served.
“At home, I break fast with a drink of ginger, salt and sugar mixture. Here of course the menu is far more elaborate,” smiled Yasmin Rehman, a member who stays in AC Block.
Bengali translations of The Quran being distributed at the iftaar gathering in New Town
This year’s iftaar highlight was the high attendance of women. “Last year, there were just about 15 women. But this year, we publicised the event and urged the ladies to join,” Rehman said.
So there were about 40 women with eight children. “I look forward to coming to iftaar parties as I love haalim,” said Naazira Shahen, a student of Class VI at DPS Megacity.
Children are not expected to keep fast till they reach puberty, said their mothers. “But some of the older children may be influenced by everyone else fasting at home and give it a try. Our Naazira fasted on two days,” said her mother. “I don’t eat that much at home anyway. So it was not tough for me,” the girl responded.
Nazneen Asad of DB Block had come to this gathering for the first time, as had her sisters-in-law from Rupasi Bangla in Action Area 1. “Our sons and husbands have come as well,” she added.
Copies of The Quran, translated in Bengali, were handed over to those who wanted one. “Everyone here cannot read Arabic. So we got these from Al Quran Academy London. The Quran is not a book to be stashed away on a rack. Nor should it be read without understanding, which is the case for many practitioners. Roza too should not be kept only for show but from the heart,” said Md Shah Alam, chairman of Al Quran Study Circle and a resident of Eden Court.
Namaz is also read on the occasions of Id at Nazrul Park in Salt Lake.
Write to saltlake@abp.in