23. POST IFTHARI SALAH AND PRE SAHRI PREPARATIONS.

After a frantic day of the Quran recitals and obligatory salahs and out-and-out fasting, we would be earnestly waiting for the ifthari. Dad would inaugurate his recital of melodious Arabic prayer at the ifthari with a date fruit and water; we would break the fasting with due reverence and awesome marvel. Then after taking the rice-spiced gruel, specially arranged for the fast breaking, we would stick together blissfully for our family Maghreb salah. Dad would always go ahead with the obligatory congregation, after which he would lead the invocatory dua and we all would say amen in a delightful chorus. For the most part the dua would be longer than we had estimated. It would usually beef up our endurance most times. Exhausted we would dissolve in a sleepy silence, horribly waiting for the faster conclusion.

 

Most Ramadan months year after year happened to come down in winter. We would get up at the mid of the cold winter nights, half-asleep and half-awake, still so much wanting to snuggle down to sleep, fully covered. However, it was a farz, an obligatory   act and that got us to get up and help mom cook the sahri.  We would be gladly assisting mom in cooking different varieties of sahri food items despite the sleep devouring chill winter nights.

 Night after nights, we would be waiting very eagerly to hear the singing chorus accompanied by musical instruments like harmonica tabala doll and flute, organized specially by suhoor party associations. They would write songs and set to tunes that were popular then and would come in throngs, lit with petromax lights  going through the lanes to awake those who would be desirous of fasting the month. The days were holy and the nights were devotional. We would be awake the whole night and after suhoor and fajr salah, we would resort to rest. Now we do not look to the fore to such a fascinating month of Ramadan.  All is gone with the passage of time. The mohallah love is no more with us. I am distressed; I miss all such lots of lively events these days.