Keeping Ramazan tradition alive

Rawalpindi

The tradition of drum-beating to wake up the faithful for ‘sehri’ has been with us for centuries and undoubtedly its cultural delight in the holy month of Ramazan has not diminished in the modern times.

One such drum beater, who although does not use a proper ‘dhol’ to wake up faithful for ‘Sehri’ is Aftab Ahmed. Aftab Ahmed alone wanders around Dhoke Munshi’s streets during Ramazan, a time when Muslim families fast from sunrise to sundown and come together for prayer and copious meals sweetened by dates and other delicacies to break off the fast after the sunset.

The sound of this ‘dhol wala’ who uses a stainless steel pot and a pestle instead of a ‘dhol’ is not new for the residents of Dhoke Munshi, as for almost two decades, Aftab Ahmed, who originally came from Bangladesh has been serving his locality to earn some extra rupees for supporting his family of two including a disabled wife and a son who is studying.

Aftab Ahmed visits streets at around 2:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. calling out loudly, ‘Utho rozay daro’ to wake up all people living in that certain locality.

Throughout the year, Aftab Ahmed earns money as a labourer who whitewashes people’s homes in the vicinity. But during Ramazan, he relies on the generosity of the residents of Dhoke Munshi to survive and earn some extra rupees for his family.

The residents of the locality really want to see and appreciate him for keeping the tradition alive despite advance technology, as he sacrifices his sleep for the sake of other people.

“It is important because people know that Ramazan has come from the sound of the ‘dhol wala’,” Aftab Ahmed said.

He said that although there is not much money in the business, with him knocking doors at the end of the holy month to collect ‘bakhshish’, a small reward that helps him in supporting his family members including his widowed sister-in-law and her children.

He visits people on Eid Day and people give him ‘Eidi’, as an acknowledgment for performing a really hard job during the whole month.