Ramzan Karim, dear readers. Ramzan lasts a month, depending on the sighting of the new moon. It began on March 1 this year. In India, fasting will continue until March 30 or 31, 2025, based on the new moon sighting, which marks the beginning of Eid-ul-Fitr.
I thought non-Muslims might like to know more about this important Muslim event, so I want to share some points about Ramzan. The Arabs say Ramadan, but we South Asians have called it Ramzan for centuries, so I will use our word. Ramzan is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar, and it is believed that the Quran was revealed during this month. During this month, Muslims observe a strict fast from dawn to sunset.
The pre-dawn meal is called suhoor in Arabic and sehri in Persian. India says sehri. It’s said that to provide energy throughout the day, filling, protein-rich foods, complex carbohydrates like whole-wheat and brown rice, healthy fats, and hydrating fruits and vegetables are eaten. Popular items include eggs, dairy products like yoghurt and cheese, lean meats like chicken and fish, legumes like beans, lentils, and chickpeas, a variety of nuts, and cucumbers, tomatoes, watermelon, and oranges, depending on season.
Some foods are better avoided. Salty foods like processed meats, pickles, and salty snacks can cause dehydration. Sugary foods like pastries, cakes, and sweet cereals usually lead to an energy crash later in the day, especially if fasting. Caffeinated drinks like tea, coffee, and soda can cause dehydration and disturb sleep. Fried foods like pakodas, samosas, and puris can cause bloating and indigestion.
After fasting the whole day, Muslims break their fast at sunset with a meal called iftar. This evening meal replenishes energy levels and rehydrates the body for the next day’s rigours. They first sip water and eat dates in memory of what their Prophet ate in Arabia. Dates provide instant energy, while water rehydrates the body. There is usually a soup or broth to gently pace digestion after the long hours of fasting. Soups and broths usually include lentil soup, chicken broth, or vegetable soup. There are nice vegetarian recipes for Arab-style food on the net that anyone could try. I like the dal soup, Shorbet Adas, and Mujadara, an Arab khichdi with dal, rice, herbs and caramelised onions.
The lean proteins for iftar include chicken, fish, tofu, and legumes, said to help in muscle repair. Fruits and vegetables like mangoes, bananas, apples, cucumbers, and leafy greens provide vitamins and fibre, while good old whole grains like brown rice, millet, and whole-wheat bread help restore energy. Iftar foods to avoid are the same as those avoided for sehri—processed, fried, and excessively salty and sugary food. But I’ve noticed that both Hindus and Muslims out North love breaking their fast with fried food. We are a pakoda-bajji nation.
During my MA years at Delhi University, I belonged to a close group of five classmates, including our friend Rashid. He hailed from the historic place in the walled city called Ballimaran, near Chandni Chowk, where the famous 19th-century poet Mirza Ghalib once lived. Rashid’s mother used to send us enormous tiffin-carriers of home-cooked food for Eid. We eagerly spread newspapers on the floor in one of the postgraduate boys’ hostel rooms where visitors were allowed and had a royal lunch. I especially remember her korma with roasted, popped water lily seeds called makhana in the north.
After that, I went to Muslim homes for iftar several times and enjoyed Delhi’s delicious ‘Mughlai’ cuisine. In fact, I have hosted iftar at home for a week for some very decent young boys who were far away from home during Ramzan 2007, making sure to keep dates handy. We didn’t think in rigid ‘religious’ slots then; it was simply Indian to Indian that here were these boys away from home in the vastness and hurly-burly of Delhi. I was merely fulfilling my dharma as I saw it, and they, too, respected and appreciated that.
I mention it only because people seem to have stopped meeting each other, which is surely not good for national health. Whereas my Maulana friend in the walled city used to say, “Every Muslim should know where the tulsi is kept in a Hindu home, and every Hindu should know where the Ayat al Kursi hangs in a Muslim home.” Ayat al Kursi means the ‘throne verse’ and is usually hung in a prominent place as a blessing and protection on the house, like how many Hindu homes hang the Parthasarathiyam, showing Krishna and Arjuna in the chariot.
Ayat al Kursi is the 255th verse of Surah al-Baqarah in the Quran. It is called ‘the greatest verse in the Quran’ and is apparently recited daily by Muslims around the world to protect themselves from evil.
Verse 18 from Surah al Baqarah spoke to me, which goes ‘Summum bukmun umyun fahum layarjiyun’, meaning, ‘Deaf, dumb and blind, they shall not return’. This was apparently uttered by medieval Sufis before sleep so that no demons or evil spirits could come near them. A friend said it’s like the Hanuman Chalisa for Muslims, and I instantly thought of ‘Bhoot pisach nikat nahi aave Mahabir jab naam sunave’.
In Islam, sawm (fasting) is excused during safar (travel), especially if you are far from home and do not stay too long at your destination. Children, pregnant women, the old, the sick, and those undergoing great physical strain for whatever reason are also excused and may fast later. May the holy month pass well for all Muslims.
(Views are personal)
(shebaba09@gmail.com)
Renuka Narayanan