The wait is finally over. After the fast, it is time for the feast. For one month the faithful followed a strict regime of fasting and prayers, but with the sighting of ‘Id-ka-Chand’, the festival, to which they look forward, has finally arrived.
While ‘haleem’ was the flavour of the Ramzan month, it is time for ‘sheer-kurma’ and ‘sewiyan’. Muslim households across the city on Thursday were a beehive of activity, with people rushing through last-minute preparations. If men moved around buying milk and vermicelli or enquiring about Eid prayer timings, women were busy cleaning and furnishing homes.
“After all, it is once a year we celebrate it, and we want to enjoy every bit of the festivities,” Shahbaz Ahmed, an IT professional, said. Excitement was very much visible among children, as in addition to new pairs of clothes the festival also guarantees them gifts from elders.
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The gifts range from toy phones to smart phones or the traditional ‘idi’, the money that elders hand over. Roads across the southern portion of the city were choc-a-block, with people flocking shops and markets. As usual, the stretch from Madina Building to Charminar was a place of hectic activity, with traders reporting good business.
It was a win-win situation for customers and traders as prices were slashed to dispose of stocks. “It is the last day of Ramzan, and we want to make the most of the opportunity,” Pasha, a footwear trader, said. Areas like Abids, Koti, Sultan Bazaar, Tolichowki, Mehdipatnam, Malakpet, Ameerpet and Secunderabad also witnessed high footfalls, resulting in traffic slowdown.