Holy Month

The holy month of Ramzan begins today. Suddenly, the whole Garden looks deserted. Attendance in the Club is also depleted. All our Muslim friends, including Yusuf-bhai , Razia Khan, Nafisa Syed, Mumtaz Jahan, Zarina Khan and Khatoon Baig went missing. Only Naid Khan kept her appointment with the Club.
Now, this says a lot about the gritty woman. A fitness addict, she is known to subject herself to rigorous workout sessions before attending/conducting our exercises every morning. Thereafter, she sets out on a slow jog for another one hour – right round the outer roads of Lokhandwala, with or without company.

How many of us would be able to survive this regimen beyond a couple of days? Naid Khan does it every day without fail, come rain or sunshine, all twelve months of the year. These days, she’d be observing roja like any other devout Muslim. But she’ll not let the day-long fasting interrupt her training schedule. You can count on her to be present in the Garden, dot-on-time every morning, during the entire Ramzan month (and beyond). Such self-discipline is rare. It is awe-inspiring.
Yesterday, when a bald, bespectacled man came into the Chinese Hut with a carton full of biscuit packets, many of us thought he was up to some charity work ahead of Ramzan. We had been seeing him earlier, at times feeding crows outside the Garden gate. Arora even urged us to take the packets home as they were “well within the expiry date”. Nobody realized then that this wasn’t any freebie (and surely no charity). So all those caught holding packets had to pay up – some with borrowed money to save face!
This morning the salesman came with another carton of biscuits, only to meet with lukewarm response. Everyone had become wise. The same people who bought from him yesterday, began to question his presence today. A lady grumbled: “You are allowing the biscuit seller now, tomorrow somebody would sell bhaji-batata, then idli-dosa, even fish and chicken... The Garden will become a bazaar!”
Good fun, isn’t it?
Renu Babani says:
I do understand the dilemma some people faced when the biscuits were displayed. However, I enjoyed them for sure. So I guess it is fine. However, I am certain (or hope so) that no future vendors make their presence felt. Otherwise we shall definitely have a Food Bazaar at the Garden! Ramadan Kareem to all who abide by the faith during this Holy Month!
--Renu