Celebrating Eid is a community affair for this colony

Ludhiana: “Every religion teaches us togetherness,” this expression perfectly on residents of Cooperation Colony in Ludhiana, where members of different communities celebrated their sixth Eid together on Wednesday. As the day broke, Hindu and Sikh families started preparations for the big day in the company of their Muslim neighbours. Later the neighbourhood assembled and offered namaaz together.
“I have never felt that we belong to a different religion, as we have always been treated here as part of everyone’s families. It’s our sixth Eid together and it feels so great when you see your friends from other religion joining you in the celebrations,” says businessman Mohammad Jamal Masurjahan.
He adds that the families here not only celebrate Eid together, but also festivals of other religions including Gurupurb. “This is another festival, which is close to my heart as it teaches us charity and service. Our neighbours brought us food during the days of Ramzan and we together perform Iftari,” adds Masurjahan.
Masurjahan’s neighbour, Harsimran Singh, too is excited and mentions: “Festival, be it any, we celebrate it with full enthusiasm and excitement. We visit the gurdwara together and give our services in the gurdwara. We play together, exchange food, and much more. I love the cuisine one gets to feast over in Eid.”
Not only elders, but youngsters in the families too have been mingling and celebrating each other’s festivals with fervour.
Mustahfiz Allam Sheikh, a student, said: “We all get together and visit a mosque. We start with chanting ‘Allahu Akbar’ and reading the Quran Shareef, and Imam Saheb read out the namaz, wishing Eid Mubarak to him. We wish everyone, be it elder or younger. I have been living in this colony since I was in Class III and we all have been celebrating every festival together, be it Gurupurab, Christmas, Eid or Diwali.”
Ashi Sharma, whose family celebrates all Hindu festivals with great fervor, says she and others in her family have always been mesmerized with Eid. “We have a very close bond with everyone here. I was a kid when Masurjahan’s family shifted here. I have been going to the school with the children of the family and we used to exchange food from our lunch boxes. I have also given them tuitions. I am fascinated with their dresses, particularly on the day of Eid and how they cover their heads. Iftari food is my favourite,” she mentions.
Gazala Mahinoor, a primary school student, said, “I get a lot of gifts on every festival and hence I love all of them. The lip-smacking food is yet another attraction. I also like ‘kadha prasad’ of Gurpurab.”