My sense is that we have not been adhering to the customs while observing Ramzan but have largely fallen in the trap of dining extravaganza. Ramzan is an opportunity to know the plight of poor who struggle hard to have a single meal a day.
In my childhood, the fasting month was for the poor people. A single dish with a cup of tea is the norm for breaking the fast. That kind of austerity marked the month. But now a days, the simplicity has been replaced by the eating extravaganza.
Especially in Malabar, the fast breaking menu will be a celebration of various dishes made of meat and egg. Whatever prayer one might do in the whole day, the purpose is lost if he or she indulges in this kind of grandeur. If the expense of a family rises during the month of Ramzan, it means that they are not adhering to the spirit of what has been mentioned in the religious text.
The media and umpteen cookery shows portray the month as a ‘food festival month’. Normally, a person’s per day intake of calories is 1200-1500. In Ramzan, this shoots up to 2000-3000 calories where originally this should be below 1000 calories.
In older days, the Iftar parties were held for the sake of the poor. But today, the poor neighbour is not invited but the well-off to the party invariably to showcase the different delicacies. The women of the household will be confined to kitchen every afternoon.
But this is not the trend outside Kerala. Keralites’ high purchasing capacity might be causing this ill-effect. A few still observe the month with all its simplicity and humility to attain the spiritual highness.
(Maina Umaiban is well-known writer)
(As told to Amiya Meethal)
