By Md. Ali , TwoCircles.net,
Ramadan – a month of increased spiritual experience. An opportunity to connect with Allah and adapting your material desires to Allah’s Will. Islam being a religion of middle path does not let Muslims totally abandon the world that they live in. They are encouraged to pray with other community members and also work and reap the worldly rewards.
Ramadan is also a month of increased economic activities.
Just to experience an excellent example of this i took the route to Sabzibagh. Located in the heart of Patna (half km east to Gandhi Maidan), the capital of Bihar, it is a good place to get a feel of the night life that is unique to Ramadan.
Lighted from every sides and corners it was in its full beauty and splendor. The decorated shops make the area bright as there are lights everywhere. You might mistake the happy environment as a kind of continuous celebration which is going on for days, but what else would be a bigger month of festival than the month of Ramadan itself.
The best way to explore the night life of Ramadan was to start with a cup of ‘sheer chai’ which is its unique feature.
Well “Shahi Sheer Chai” stall, which is run by Mohammad Islam, is there to serve you with enjoyable cups (i promise you won’t stop at one cup).
The moment you will step into Sabzibhagh you will find the stall on your right side. So, how was it possible for us to visit the area in Ramadan and not have a few cups of the special tea? Mohammad Islam was gracious enough to oblige me at Rs 4 per cup. With such an enjoyable taste I think it is India’s answer to energy drink Red Bull.
To add a bit dose of history to our memorable experience of Sheeer Chai, Mohammad Islam informed me that it had its roots to Kashmir where it had the status of no less than “hot fruit”.
You may not believe that he sells about two thousand cups every night at Rs. 4 a cup. He also claims that there are ten stalls like his doing brisk business every night in this month. Now you can do the math and this humble business rakes in about a lakh rupees every night in the month of Ramadan.
As i went ahead to explore the night life typical in Ramzan, at the next corner i found Haji Bakery. It is a permanent shop that sees increased business activity during this holy month. They see not only Muslims but non-Muslim customers coming to their shop to try their special items that are available only this month.
I also got to know how a general and superficial perception can be very deceptive. At this juncture it was quite a revelation and a secular enlightenment to me that an area which appears to be predominantly a Muslim area has a number of shops owned by non-Muslims who also benefit from the economic blessing that comes with Ramadan.
This way Sabzibagh has become significant for us because it is a practical example of secularism. It has maintained a secular tradition whereby it has brought about people from both the communities to do business together over decades.
It has also allowed people from all the faiths to intermingle thereby opening the possibilities of interaction and negating the chances of ghettoisation. Ghettos are the breeding grounds of prejudices and rumors.
After this secular enlightenment i met Pramod, a middle aged shop owner of dry fruits who sees his sales increase by 50% in Ramadan. His small shop is in Sabzibagh for the last 20 years and among other things sells dates that is the first food that fasting Muslims put in their mouth to break their fast.
Just few shops after the dry fruits shop you can locate another Hindu businessman in his 40s, Dharmendar who helps clothe Muslim men and women for the Eid day. He sells kurtas, pajamas, and sherwanis. Ramadan is the month that he looks towards for increased sales. Because of recent floods in North Bihar, he complains that business is little low but hopeful that closer to Eid it should pick up.
Mohammad Firoz Khan (54), who sells sevayin (sweet vermicelli) and laccha, agrees with Dharmender that business is little slow this year. He also blames the Bihar flood that prevented customers from outside coming into Patna. But he is also hopeful that by Eid he would do enough business to compensate for the slow start.
Sabzibagh is not only about shopping and eating but people also buy Islamic books, tasbeeh, and prayer caps. Rizwan Khan sets up his temporary stall selling just skull caps. He stocks caps of all kinds and from different parts of the country. Sitting in front of a pyramid of caps he has cap to fit all sizes of head and pocket.
With thirteen fasting days (or Roza as it is popularly called) having passed the crowed has started increasing in Sabzibagh which is essentially a market where you can find almost everything. With buyers being from every age group you can find the place as a microcosm for the city.
The night life continues till late at night and provides a way for the believers to unwind after a day of fasting and prayers. Majority of the economic activity is done by small business helping generate employment and profit that is retained in the community. In the day when everything is branded and taken over by corporation it is a relief to see that lakhs and crores of rupees spent on festival shopping help the community and the country.
(This article has been written with the help of Kashif-ul-Huda)