Lucknow: Veg cuisine with flavour of amity on Eid platter

LUCKNOW: In a gesture aimed at conserving and promoting the Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb of Lucknow, the Muslim members of an organization are holding lavish feast on Eid in Old City, promising a spread of wholly vegetarian delicacies to their neighbours from Hindu and other communities and are busy handing out special invites in their areas.
Around 600 families in Nakkhas, Tudiaganj, Akbari Gate, Asharfabad and Kashmiri Mohalla are being invited for the Eid-ul-Fitr banquet.
The organization, Being Muslim Foundation, has around 350 members, including 80 Hindus and 270 Muslims. On the last Friday (Alvida) of Ramzan, the organisation decided to hold the feast to promote communal harmony through Eid celebrations. Around 600 cards were printed and handed over by its president Shafaeen Qureshi to all 270 Muslim members.
The members have taken a pledge to knock doors of Hindu families in their locality randomly and invite them to their homes to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr with them.
The special invitation cards for Hindus and other communities read: “We are specially arranging wholly vegetarian cuisine for you all.”
Kashi Prasad, a resident of Nakkhas, was elated on getting the invitation and said, “I am not able to express my feelings. I have been living in a Muslim-dominated area, but have never faced any trouble.”
Keshavnath Mishra, a resident of Asharfabad, said, “We have been living together for generations. No one can divide us.”