He is constantly serving his customers with momo, sekuwas and taas, whatever and however they prefer. At the peak hour, during lunch or in the evening, he barely has time to stand still for a few seconds.[break]
He often lifts his hand and wipes the trail of sweat that appears instantly on his forehead; the heat from the stove adding to the humid temperature of Kathmandu.
Ramadan, the holy month, observed by Muslim community around the world is starting today. Regarded as the rewarding month, the followers of Islam abstain from food, water or other physical requirements during the daylight hours.
Uddin is equally looking forward to the month-long festivity. Working more than 14 hours cooking for his eatery does not dissuade him from taking the strict fast. The fast requires one to refrain from even a single drop of water.
“It’s difficult for a couple of days after you begin, then it starts to be easier,” he says with ease, referring from his experience.
He says that he is least bothered by the food when he is determined to fast. Serving hordes of people with delicacies from his kitchen is not a problem for him at all. “It’s a matter of habit,” he adds.
Nabila Banu, 23, agrees that the fast, which seems strict and tough, is the matter of habit. “I started fasting since I was nine. But I used to break my fast at noon.
However, after being 12 years old, we were all required to take the proper fast. It is how my family establishes the habit of fasting in younger children,” she adds.
As a kid, Ramadan was a fun festivity for Banu. “The variety of food during Iftar, the ceremony of breaking fast at night, used to be the highlight for me. That was also the motivating factor to take the fast,” laughs Banu.
The meaning of Ramadan changed eventually when she grew up. “Many friends ask me how I take such strict fast for a whole month. But for me, it’s the strong will that gives me the strength. It isn’t difficult when you are optimistic and determined,” she says.
Among many teachings in the Holy Quran, the month-long fast is mainly carried out to practice self-discipline, self-control, sacrifice and empathy for the less fortunate ones. During the fast, along with eating and drinking, sexual intercourse is also prohibited, urging its followers to resist all kinds of worldly temptations.
“It’s said that if we can bear our hunger, we can control anything else, and that keeps me going. After all, that’s what we’re supposed to attain in these 30 days,” adds Banu.
But it isn’t as easy for other young professionals. The young followers of Islam find it difficult to abide by the strict fast due to their work pressures.
Altaban Rahi, 26, an MBBS doctor who lives in Nepalgunj, says he’s unable to complete his fast due to 12-hour duty in the hospital. “Sometimes, there’s an urge of drinking at least a glass of water when the temperature is humid and you’re constantly inside a small room with a supervisor and patients,” he says. But he has never broken his fast midday; it’s in the morning he decides whether he’s fasting the very day or not.
“Ramadan is a sacred month, and to follow according to the rules is utmost necessary. But my work is such that it demands mental as well as physical pressure and I also have to take care of my health,” he explains.
The member of the national cricket team who holds the Guinness Book of World Records for taking all ten wickets in an inning at an international tournament against Mozambique in 2008, Mehboob Alam, 28, also fasts irregularly when he’s touring.
Though Alam started his fast during Ramadan when he was seven years old, his proper fasting discontinued since he started playing for the national team in 2008.
“I haven’t even been able to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the last day of Ramadan, with my family for some years,” he shares. He adds that excessive physical stress doesn’t allow him to fast during tournaments.
Once the fast is initiated, it has to be strict and pure. But there are also options for those who cannot fast for the 30 days during Ramadan. According to the Holy Quran, one can compensate the days that have been missed during Ramadan to be fulfilled at some other time.
“If you’re sick or on a journey, you can refrain from the fast. Sometimes, when vomiting or excessive loss of blood occurs, the fast can be broken. Also, when women have periods, they will have to compensate those seven days at other time of the year,” says Banu.
Though they are unable to fast completely for the whole month during Ramadan, both Rahi and Alam make sure that they read all five prayers of Namaz during the holy month. “Apart from taking time to read Namaz even during my duty hours, I have always been to Tarabi, the extra congregational prayers at night, at a nearby mosque,” says Rahi.
Besides religious pardon, Rahi and Alam are also thankful to their respective families for understanding the nature of their work and excusing them from the festival obligations.
But for other families in a Muslim community like Banu’s and Uddin’s, it’s the time when they bond with family and relatives.
About ten minutes before the Muezzin from the mosque recites Azaan, the Islamic call to prayer, for Maghrib, the fourth of five formal daily prayers, all the delicacies for iftar are neatly put over the dastarkhān, the traditional tablecloth. But they control their hunger until the time is right. With more than a dozen varieties of food in front of them, they sit down in a circle and pray to Allah.
“It’s said that the prayers at that time are more revered, so we chant our prayers loudly during that time,” Banu says.
After the prayers are completed, everyone takes food from the dastarkhān. Banu adds that it’s the happiest time to be breaking the fast with the best foods and all the chatter and laughter that follow.
“Therefore, the time for iftar is excitedly awaited in our family,’ she says.
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