Lucknow's Chota Imambara feeds poor in Ramadan

By TCN Staff Reporter

Lucknow: As the dawn of the first day of the holy month of Ramazan descended on Thursday, sixty-five year old Nawabu rushed from his ancestral home at Wazirbagh to reach Chota Imambarah as early as possible. On reaching the Imambara premises Nawabu along with a dozen of his colleagues began preparing tandori roti and aloo ki sabzi meant for the poor and needy section fo the society. The process will follow throughout the month, serving more than 500 people per day.

Nawabu guiding his assitant while making rotis for community kitchen in Chota Imambara.

Nawabu has been doing this every year for the month of Ramazan for not less than three decades. The food is meant for all those widows and downtroden people from the state capital who have got the permission slip for free food from Hussainabad Trust that organises this programme of serving free food during the holy month to the poor and needy.

"This practice of serving the poor gives me eternal solace apart from the salary that I get from the trust," says Nawabu.

Way back somewhere in mid eighties when a young Nawabu used to run a hotel near Wazirbagh shrine that he was offered to work with the trust. The only thing that motivated the famous cook of that time was the purpose that his food would serve.

"I was offered only a few rupees at that time. But I could not refuse for it was a work of charity," he adds.

Every day hundreds of downtroden people mostly widows and orphans from various corners of the city possesing the permission slips with an entry each for twenty nine days of the holy month take along their due throghout the day. Apart from people coming to collect the food comprising two rotis and sabzi packed in a mud bowl. These cooks headed by Nawabu also prepare itmes that are sent for people who break their day long fasts at dusk in the mosques of the city.
"We sent chips, pakori and many other light eatables to mosques for the people to break their fasts as per the religious rituals," said Asghar Hussain, an office bearer of teh trust.

Earlier the food also comprised of non-vegeterian items but was transformed into complete vegeterian menu some years ago. A similar kind of community kichen is also organised by the Trust during Moharram.