HYDERABAD: It's just about midnight. Most of the main road leading to a nondescript side street in Borabanda is devoid of traffic as the city settles deep into sleep. Far away in the distance, a police patrol van is parked, it's blue and red lights flashing, letting those on the street know that the law does not sleep. And from the slightly puffed surma-lined eyes, it appears that even
Ashraf
has been awake for a while. "I am here around midnight setting up the kitchen to begin cooking for the Sahr," he says.
On an average, each morning, there are about 200 mouths to feed at the Sahr. And on some days, the number touches nearly three hundred. Those helping in the kitchen are already going about their tasks, which includes washing about 50 kg of rice, preparing the nearly 10 kg of chicken along with vegetables and dal for the upcoming meal. Soon, other volunteers begin arriving. Among them are three women -- two Hindus and one Christian.
Meanwhile, the city's deputy mayor
Mohammad Baba Fasiuddin
checks if drinking water has been put in place and oversees other arrangements such as laying of a carpet in the middle of the swept street for people to sit and have their meal.
"We were wondering what we can do differently this year for Ramzan," he says. During discussions with his family, friends and others, the idea of organising a communal sehri took root. "We wanted to see if this can become a unifying act in the area, bringing people of different communities together. And I think we have made a good beginning on that front," Fasiuddin says.
Word was spread at all the mosques in Borabanda (which Fasiuddin represents in the
Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation council
), that a hot wholesome meal will be served next to the mosque opposite Fasiuddin's residence every morning. "We also informed four madrassas in the area and particularly localities where migrant labourers live," he says.
An old classmate,
Naveen Rao
also helps a lot, the deputy mayor says. While people like these have helped either with space or material, the likes of Shiva, a computer operator with GHMC or Ashraf, a driver in the protocol department, are among the foot soldiers who make the Sahr proceed without any hiccups.
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