Desi Dialogues: Honouring those fasting for Ramadan

I recently met my neighbour, who I did not know followed this fast, but who I observed with awe as she went about her chores during this month. An aesthetician by profession, the lady works in a beauty parlour and also runs her own private practice wherein clients, such as myself, come in for their beauty needs.

She wakes up at 3 a.m. to pray and eat some food - but she can’t really eat she says because she is tired and wants to get back to sleep. That’s understandable because by 9 a.m. she must be in the parlour and on her feet without any water or food until sun down.

Then, even if she comes home by 6 or 7 p.m., she has to wait for a few more hours before she can take one morsel.

In between this time, that is by the time she comes home and she eats her first meal, I saw her working: first she started with some clients and then cut my hair. But in between clients she ran upstairs to her kitchen and literally from scratch made a heavy rice and meat dish, cleaned the utensils, made two salads laid the table and proceeded to attend to the clients.

Oh, and did I tell you that in between this time she prayed on her mat two times. As I watched her do all the things she did, I could not but marvel at the extraordinary strength this lady possessed.

I could not also understand the reason behind such an arduous task, but then another Muslim friend, who is undertaking after many years (as she was pregnant in the past couple of years) told me the significance of the holy month.

You might be interested in

{{type}}

{{title}}

• Dec 31, 1969
• Comments

{{type}}

{{title}}

• Dec 31, 1969
• Comments

The fasting is only part of the process. And while its meant for self control and reflection, it’s also about understanding the ego (of the person) and the fact that one needs to control the urge to give in to temptations and be a more restrained, kinder, patient person who understands what the religion teaches and what the message is in that fasting.

Also, I discovered, it is not essential to fast for the entire month — but a more lenient kind, in that, one can choose to do it whenever he or she wants to. For instance, one Muslim friend is going to start fasting from this week, although Ramadan has already started.

That part of the fasting process in my opinion, gives one the option of choosing how they want to do it and when they want to do it. It also makes people test their own abilities without putting an undue amount of pressure on them as there is that bit of flexibility around it.

I could not do something as drastic where even water or a drink was not permitted- especially in these hot months, but for all of the millions who do it year on year I say kudos.