Delhi's Jama Masjid Area: Buzzing With Ramadan Activity

By Shakir Husain Shakir Husain, BERNAMA’s correspondent in India shares his take on the New Delhi capital city and its unique social narrative. NEW DELHI, June 6 (Bernama) -- The Maghrib prayer has just ended at Delhi's historic Jama Masjid and the area is starting to acquire its usual evening luster. Activity is normally dull during daytime in this quarter of the city during the holy month of Ramadan. This changes drastically in the evening. Shops and streets remain busy until late night and offer a different experience to visitors. Pompie Hughe and his family have arrived at the Jama Masjid, having heard about Old Delhi's Ramadan bustle and they are hoping to learn more the place. They belong to India's tiny Chinese community and have moved to New Delhi from Kolkata. "We are looking for street food but we can't see it," says Pompie. That's because they have arrived slightly early and not all food outlets are fully open yet. A bit of homework is needed to get to the right places in this busy district with not many signs to help tourists. Pompie and his family didn't know they were standing only a short distance away from Karim's, the city's famous Mughlai cuisine restaurant. Its kitchen hums with activity after iftar, the breaking of fast at sunset. There will be plenty of street food at the outlets dotting the main streets. But you have to be careful about where you eat and what you eat. Those venturing into the street food scene must know about "Delhi belly". In plain words, this is the worst kind of upset stomach travellers to India suffer. Delhi residents are not immune from this problem but it's safe to say they can handle local hygiene standards better than visitors. Pompie and those with him have taken a note of this and are ready to walk to a famous kebab restaurant nearby. That would be some compensation for their earlier missing out on visiting the Jama Masjid, one of India's largest mosques built by Shah Jahan, the fifth Mughal emperor after Babur, Humayun, Akbar, and Jahangir. The founder of Shahjahanabad, which is today's Old Delhi, Shah Jahan was a great builder and the world is familiar with his most famous monument, the Taj Mahal in Agra. The 17th century Jama Masjid, built on a 10-metre elevation, towers over Old Delhi and hosts thousands of fasting worshippers and visitors, Muslims and non-Muslims, daily. Its courtyard, which has a capacity to accommodate 25,000 people during prayer, presents a colorful look at iftar time. Many families bring their home-cooked meals and share with others. People can also buy fritters and fruits from the area and climb the stairs leading up to the mosque courtyard and enjoy their iftar there. "We heard so much about Ramadan activities but we're not sure whether we could go inside the mosque," says Pompie. The mosque is open to visitors except during the prayer times. Hundreds of people go there daily to marvel at it architecture, the domes and the minarets. One special feature of Ramadan is the non-obligatory taraweeh prayer at mosques. As you move away from the relative tranquility of the Jama Masjid, you are assailed by the cacophony of commerce and traffic noise. For visitors, the area presents a new experience but it's all routine for those living in Old Delhi. Shops during Ramadan have more lighting, decorations and merchandise. Demand for items like prayer mats, dates, vermicelli, dry fruits, prayer beads and caps grows during the month. Some shops shut their normal business to sell the items most in demand during Ramadan. Mohammed Samir has rented a restaurant to use the place for his dry fruits business. "Sales of dry fruits soar in this period. I rent a place in this area every year," he says. In the last days of Ramadan, the demand for children's and women's clothing peaks and less profitable businesses make way for this trade. Shoppers can be seen out until the morning Fajr prayer call in the days just before Eid Al Fitr. The Jama Masjid neighbourhood during the holy month is a picture of piety, charity, and abundant retail. -- BERNAMA