Free iftar at High Court Mazar Mosque

For Muslims, Ramadan is about restraint, austerity and fostering social cohesion and brotherhood among all, irrespective of wealth.

Iftar at High Court Mazar is epitomised by that spirit in the fullest sense.

Around 2,500 people from all walks of life gather here to break their fast.

The process of cooking and distributing iftar for so many people is a huge task, said Md Shahid, a follower of Khawza Kashem Ali Shah Chisti, who is involved in the endeavour for around 30 years now.

Around 3:15pm yesterday, two hours ahead of iftar, several volunteers were seen busy completing the cooking of vegetable khichuri. They had no time to waste as they will need to serve iftar exactly at 6:13pm at the High Court Mazar Mosque.

The iftar preparations started in the morning. They cut vegetables and different kinds of fruits and prepared other iftar items like chickpeas, beguni, potato chop, piaju and sherbet.

Shahid said around 1:00pm, they started to place plates and glasses on the floors at the premises next to the mosque.

"Most importantly we have to ensure that everybody gets equal shares," he said.

Zihad Ali Pagla, another follower of Kasem Ali, said most people who come here for iftar are the poor, including beggars, orphans, street children, rickshaw-pullers, unemployed and homeless people.

Ahaduzzaman said the followers of Kasem Ali have been arranging this kind of iftar at 11 places in 11 districts, an initiative which was started by Kashem himself.

However, the picture is a little different inside the Dhaka High Court Mazar Mosque, where food items are distributed through bowls and one bowl was dedicated to four persons.

They also distribute a glass of sherbet to each person.

During a visit to the mosque at 4:00pm, it was found several hundred red bowls were placed on the mosque floor in long queues.

The process to distribute iftar started just after Asr prayers.

"We provide iftar items like date, watermelon, grapes, banana, apple, potato chop, chickpeas, beguni, potato chop, piaju, sherbet, khichuri, tehari and sometimes sweets like bundia," said justice Md Khasruzzaman, member of Supreme Court Majar O Mosjid Proshashon.

Around 1,500 people from all walks of life attend the iftar every day which is provided free of cost.

"Apart from the people who attend here, we also provide a portion of it outside the mosque and distribute it to the people there. These are being arranged with the contribution of all," said Khasruzzaman.

Besides, they also provide meals two times a day to around 1,500 people in other months besides Ramadan, he added.

"I used to sell balloons at fairs and work in restaurants. But I didn't get a job at Bikrampur, for which I came to Dhaka around 15 days back. But still didn't get any job," said Abdul Hannan who came to the spot to break his fast.

Hannan is currently unemployed and sleeps at Dhaka Stadium every night.

Fazila Begum, who survives by begging in the Mazar area, was waiting to get a plate at the premises of the Mazar. "I come here every morning for food and return to Nimtoli Bazar in the evening," said Fazila, who sleeps in Nimtoli Bazar area.