Have we travelled far and away from the true spirit of roza?

BENGALURU:  There may be a small percentage of Bengalureans which haven’t yet been to the Fraser Town iftar food festival, and other me-too upstarts in other corners of the city. ‘Town’ as it is called in young lingo – a central meeting point for the Cantt area residents of Richards Town, Benson Town, Cleveland Town, Cox Town, Cooke Town and sundry old British ‘towns’ – transforms itself into a smoky smorgasbord of meat, in its many varieties, shapes, textures and colours.

You will find throngs of people from all communities on the Mosque Road-MM Road bylanes, halal no bar. The fasting variety and the feasting kinds come to indulge in the meatopia. The place is certainly not for vegetarians, who may find some spare offerings of roast paneer, desserts and juices, and little else. Those who prefer pleasures of the flesh are spoiled rotten for choice: you could partake of a partridge, chew on some camel, binge on beef, and other commoner meats. Grills, skewers, coals and wood fires, they are all on the streets, with a special section for seafood too.

Many years after it debuted at the iftar festival, the most sought-after dish, by far, remains the rustic ‘patthar ka gosht’ – par-cooked meat roasted in masalas on a burning slab of stone. The clouds of smoke, eager crowds and clanging of tongs are giveaways to the sizzling meat being scooped out into paper plates, covered with onion rings and a dash of lemon. There are a hundred other varieties, Indian, Chinese, Arabian, going by pretty innovative names: Anarkali chicken and Mohabbat ka sharbat are just a sample. Not to miss the regular kheema rotis, samosas, nihari and haleem.

There are also some sorts who can be found in the area right from iftar, the evening meal, to sehri, the morning meal, just as the stalls wind up for the morning. It’s a month for big business across the world, from Marrakesh to Manchester, as food takes precedence.

But wait a minute, when did Ramadan, the month of fasting undertaken to experience the hunger of the poor, turn into a gorge fest? When did the weeks of spartan living and religious contemplation, marked by distribution of alms and food, become a festival of indulgence? Iftar get-togethers are meant for sharing food, to appreciate the blessed cool sip of water after 14 hours of abstinence, and to bring about a generosity of spirit and purse. While there are free iftar counters sponsored by the wealthy in many countries, we seem to have travelled far and away from the true spirit of the festival.