NEW DELHI (AA) : Ramadan festivities bring bustling markets and delicious food to old Delhi despite rising inflation and communal riots in some parts of India.
The month of Ramadan is currently being observed by Muslims worldwide, and it is a time of great importance to them. Throughout India, markets that have existed for centuries remain open 24 hours a day to cater to the festive atmosphere of the occasion, serving delicious food.
Since Ramadan began at the end of March, the streets of the national capital New Delhi’s old neighborhoods have been bustling with visitors.
This year’s markets are completely packed with visitors, even more than last year, Akram Quraishi, the owner of a popular eatery in old Delhi, told Anadolu Agency (AA).
“We see people visiting the markets during the day until early morning … before morning prayers,” he said, adding that, “Foreigners are also visiting in good numbers.”
Everyone is happy and enjoying the Ramadan activities, he remarked.
The country’s Ruet-e-Hilal Committee (moon sighting authority) decides the beginning of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar.
Old Delhi is the central part of the city that was built in the early 17th century by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, who later made it the kingdom’s capital in 1648 and named it Shahjahanabad.
Several eateries in the walled city serve the best Mughlai cuisines – a combination of Indian and Persian food – that feature traditional flavors, such as chicken-rice biryani, kebabs, köfte (meatballs), pulao or pilaf (rice cooked in meat) and tandoori, a cylindrical clay oven in which food is cooked.
Such restaurants are now open until the early hours of the morning.
But the most appealing evening is the gathering of Muslims inside the courtyard of India’s historic Jama Masjid, the main mosque in Delhi, where thousands of people break their fast while sitting on mats placed in lines.
People bring fruits and dates from their homes to break their fast with family members. “This is our routine every year. We come here once a year during Ramadan to break the fast with our families,” Najeeb Ahmad, 35, from Noida City, a town on the outskirts of Delhi, told AA.
“People from all over come here every day, and this is a festive time for everyone,” he said.
People quickly gather at the Jama Masjid after the fast-breaking iftar meal to offer evening prayers.
Outside the mosque, vendors entice customers with unique dishes and desserts, such as Imran Ahmad’s watermelon-packed Sharbat e Mohabbat, a delectable drink.
“I come here every evening and sell hundreds of glasses daily,” he told AA.
Multiple cuisines
Restaurants serving halal foods are doing well across the country, as some Muslims prefer non-vegetarian food for dinner after breaking their fast.
“Haleem” is one of the favorite dishes of the people of Hyderabad, the capital of Telangana state in southern India. It is made from a thick mixture of ground wheat flour, meat and lintels cooked with traditional Indian spices. People from nearby areas especially visit the city to enjoy Hyderabadi Haleem.
In Hyderabad, Ramadan and Haleem are synonymous, according to Mohammed Abdul Majeed, the owner of 30 restaurants in the city serving the popular dish.
“We have outlets in almost every part of the city, and we can see a lot of people coming to enjoy this delicacy associated with the city,” Majeed told AA over the phone.
Their employees are working hard to balance the demand and supply of this dish, he added.
Apart from that, there is a wide variety of dishes available in other places, ranging from chicken kebab to mutton biryani.
Rising prices
With rising inflation in Indian markets, fruit prices have shot up as well, which dealers say Muslims prefer when breaking the fast.
Watermelon, grapes and muskmelon are plentiful in markets, but their prices have more than doubled during Ramadan.
Similarly, Indian and foreign dates have flooded almost all markets as their demand doubled during the fasting month.
“We have dates of almost all qualities coming from different Middle Eastern countries. However, prices for dates increased like other food and daily-use items in comparison to last year,” said Azam Khan, a date trader based in Bhopal, a city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
“From our side, we’re taking less profit,” he told AA over the phone.
Inflation is affecting everyone, and people are thinking twice before buying anything this Ramadan, said Shafiq Ahmed, a Bhopal resident.
“Muslims spent more during Ramadan, but many things are out of reach for the common man at this time. All essential daily products are expensive. During Ramadan, the prices of fruits and dry fruits increased by nearly 30%-40%,” Ahmed told AA.
Despite fasting from dawn to dusk, Ramadan invigorates people, bazaars and eateries. However, inflation and the two days of communal riots that began on March 30 in West Bengal during processions by members of Hindu right-wing groups and spread to three other states sapped those energies.
In clashes in Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Gujarat, at least two people were killed and dozens were injured. However, the administration handled the situation in these states, and Ramadan life returned to normal.
