<i>Chawkbazar air full of iftar aroma</i>

Photo: Anisur Rahman

It was about 2:00pm in the afternoon. The road towards Chawkbazar was completely blocked with thousands of people from different parts of the city swarming the area from all directions. Their common destination is the iftar market of Chawkbazar.
Chawkbazar, one of the oldest business hubs in the city, has more than a hundred-year-old tradition of being the city's biggest and most popular iftar bazaar.
Even four hours before the iftar time, hundreds of makeshift food stalls open at Chawkbazar with scores of iftar items -- hot, spicy, crispy and greasy.
The air is full of the aroma of singara, monchuri, narkel samosa, jhal kachori, panir shamosa, jali kebab, dahi bara or doi dobani, sutli kebab, shahi paratha, shahi halim, irani kebab, nimak para, panir paratha, kashmir sherbet, malpoa and many more delicacies.
Items that attract the most are the five-foot tall shik kebab and the giant shahi gilapi weighing up to 2 to 3 kilo available only in Chawkbazar. Another attraction is the grand “boro baper polai khai,” which is a mixture of a full-size chicken, beef and mutton kebab, suti kebab, mincemeat, fried chickpea, parched rice (chira) etc.
However, the iftar market of Chawkbazar this year saw higher prices of almost all items due to the skyrocketing prices of essentials.
Sellers at Chawkbazar said every item is being sold at a higher price compared to last year's. “We had to increase the prices of our iftar items due to rising prices of ingredients,” said Yousuf Ahmed of Alauddin Sweetmeat.
The price hike however did not affect the typical crowd. Although restaurants and food stalls in all parts of the city offer assortment of iftar items, Chawkbazar still attracts a sea of fasting devotees every Ramadan.
“The scrumptious items that Chawbazar offers cannot be found anywhere else in the city. During every Ramadan I come here at least 15 days to buy iftar,” said Habibur Rahman, who travelled all the way from Kalabagan for a special treat.
Not at all worried about the greasy, spicy substance of these foodstuff and the health issues, Habibur said, "In Chawkbazar you can find 10 to 15 kinds of kebab like suti, shik, boti, handi, shami, zali and reshmi kebab, which are not available at any other places.”
“The taste is simply divine and cannot be compared with anything that the modern restaurants offer,” he added.