By Poornima Marh, TwoCircles.net
Zainaba Farzana is a dentist and her husband Haroon works for a medical instrument company in Saudi Arabia. They have two children, a daughter and a son. The husband-wife duo love travelling and they became the first Indian couple to ride on six continents on bikes. They flew to each continent and undertook a 7-9 day biking tour in one or two countries. The couple has covered a total of 10,434 km. during their expeditions. They also hold a national record for the same in the Limca book of records. About their passion of travelling Farzana says “ Haroon is a very passionate traveller, and has always had a bike. Myself however didn’t travel much until I was married. After we got married he asked me if I wanted to travel with him. I was a little hesitant, but decided to go. I also decided that if at any point it gets difficult for me, I would book a flight and head back home. In 2008 we took our first trip together and have been travelling together since then.”
About Ramadan Farzana says “ As a kid, it was more about waiting to break the fast, because you know how children are, and at the end of the month, Eid was fun, it was a celebration. But now, it is not much about food, its more about others, and how you can be of service to other people around you. You don’t do it to show anybody but for your own self and the good of others. You really feel at peace internally when you make someone else happy.”
Haroon had similar thoughts too. He says “on one side Ramadan is about devotion, and on the other it is about giving. Giving doesn’t necessarily mean giving money. There can be so many ways of giving. and you can always give throughout the year. It is a month where you reflect and think about how I am fortunate enough to have all this. Somebody else might not have the same. This month is about bridging this gap and in turn giving back to the community. It is also a personal fight, where you restrict yourself from everything. It brings that discipline which automatically makes you a better human being.”
TCN Series: Ramadan 1439