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| A volunteer brings fruit |
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| peeling and cutting fruit for iftari |
For all twenty-nine days of
the holy month of Ramazan, a famous shrine in the heart of the Azad Jammu and
Kashmir (AJK) capital had been the scene of an awe-inspiring activity.
Named as “dastarkhan”
(cloth on which food is served), it was the offering of iftar-cum-dinner to
as many as 700 underprivileged people by a group of around 40
devoted volunteers, associated with two local social outfits - KasaMira
Organisation and Bazm-e-Ashiqan-e-Naseer.
“Being close to our hearts,
this activity has been giving us a sense of satisfaction and contentment that
words fail to describe,” said Ibrar Awan, who headed the team of good
Samaritans.
A jeweler by profession,
the 26-year old bearded youth told this scribe that over the past few years his
KasaMira Organisation had been organizing small scale iftaris in
different mosques in main old city.
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| Volunteers making sweet drink |
However, last year some
people suggested that we should organize mass iftar for the
poverty stricken labour class found in plenty in the proximity of Shah Inayat
Shrine near Upper Adda, he recalled.
“Initially, I was bit
afraid that whether we will be able to manage an iftari for
this much strength on a daily basis, but after being emboldened by some
affluent and philanthropic family members, I took up the challenge with the
help of my colleagues and succeeded,” he added.
Last year they had to put
out panaflax adverts to attract people to iftari. But this year, the attendees
were no less than 700 from the day one of fasting. Sometimes the figure swelled
to 1000.
The menu included dates,
two kinds of fruit, sherbet (sweet drink) and biryani with a
drumstick.
The volunteers – all in
their 20s – would get to their work at 4 pm, putting on white t-shirts
inscribed with the word “dastarkhan” and bearing the insignia of both
organisations.
After 4 pm, one of them
would bring fruit and others would start peeling and cutting it in bite-size
pieces.
Some young children would
also take part in this activity.
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| Given the large number of people dastarkhan laid on the alley outside Shrine |
Muhammad Muzammil, an
11-year old disciple of a religious seminary in Rawalpindi, was one of them.
When asked why he does so,
the young t-shirt clad boy responded, though shyly: “I love to help these
elders.”
Nearby, other volunteers
would prepare sweet drink in half a dozen big buckets.
By 5:30 pm, cauldrons of
biryani would arrive and volunteers would start making their packets for one
person.
Syed Hamza Gillani, 19, was
among that team.
“My family would daily ask
me to break the fast with them, but honestly speaking all of us felt more
gratified at the service here,” he said.
Given the systemic and
transparent arrangements, people approached them to put their share in the
daily activity, costing up to Rs 50,000.
“Some people foot the
entire bill while some contributed partly, either in cash or kind, in
accordance with their financial capacity,” Ibrar said.
He told that a group of 40
University students had twice sponsored the whole iftari.
They also broke their fast
here, he said.
“This reflects the unique
quality of our people to zealously donate and spend in the way of Allah,
regardless of their age or income group,” Ibrar said.
The volunteers had
purchased 1000 plates, as many glasses, and other requisite crockery and
cutlery to facilitate the fasting persons.
They would return home late
in the night, after cleaning all used utensils to make them ready for the next
evening.
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| Inside the Shrine |
Generally, any monotonous
routine loses its charm after few days, but Ibrar said the gusto of his team
remained formidable throughout the holy month.
Rather, they appeared
little gloomy as sighting of Shawwal moon marked the wind-up of their daily
activity in the current lunar year.
“When you do anything to
earn Allah’s blessings, the zeal and zest of the believers is bound to
multiply,” Ibrar said.
Tariq Naqash
