It is 06:45 PM, late in the evening and I fall in line with a small group of youngsters moving up the flight of stairs on the 2nd block of Vismayam College class rooms where an Iftar function was being set up – a ritual repeated unfailingly every year. The music as we entered the corridor leading to the ‘Iftar’ hall was pleasing to the senses as we were received by a smiling group of young ‘Iftar’ organizers ushering us into the program hall. As we stepped inside we were taken aback by the magnificent lighting in the room, which was a rich golden hue. The students from both the Media and Design disciplines had done a superlative job of decorating the entire area with a stage and excellent props and backdrops. The food was already piled on top of small raised platforms laid in rows end to end on the floor. Small wax lamps placed near the food trays enhanced the ambience even further. Dates and watermelon, mangoes and pomegranates with a lemonade drink was already laid out. As the clock inched forward towards the call for prayer more homemade snacks – cutlets, chattipathiri’ etc. – joined the fruits on the food platform.
Very soon it’s past Maghrib time and the call for evening prayers is sounded which also marked the break of the daylong fasting period inviting the group to partake of the food laid before them. A sip of lemonade and a bite into the date signaled the end of fasting.
After an interval of twenty minutes following the first round of food consumed we sat down once again for the main course of sumptuous chicken biriyani.
The images posted here will tell the story and also highlight the ‘Mehendi’ contest conducted earlier in the day.
Iftar is one of the religious practices of Ramadan and is often done as a community, with people gathering to break their fast together. This is a sublime moment for all those sharing the experience.
