The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : An Iftar with a difference

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Thursday, Sep 03, 2009
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

An Iftar with a difference

Yogendra Kalavalapalli

Children participate in Iftar-Vinayaka Chavithi celebrations

— PHOTO: K. RAMESH BABU

In harmony: People’s Initiative Network celebrating Iftar-Vinayaka Chavithi on Wednesday.

HYDERABAD: Wednesday will remain memorable for nine-year-old Imraan Khan. Everyday during the month of Ramzan, he breaks the fast with his parents, but on Wednesday, in a moment signifying communal harmony, he broke it in the presence of his friends from the Hindu community.

That was not all. The Hindu festival Ganesh Chaturthi was also celebrated when 170 students and 72 faculty members from People’s Initiative Network (PIN) schools took part in an “integration prayer”. The children who came from poor economic backgrounds were celebrating Iftar-Vinayaka Chavithi celebrations at the premises of one of their schools in Moosanagar slum in Chaderghat.

Festive atmosphere

A festive atmosphere reigned at the school. “This is the first time I am participating in a event like this. I feel so happy celebrating both the festivals together with my friends,” said N. Navitha, a fifth class student of PIN school in Patel Nagar slum. “Hindu-Muslim bhai bhai,” wittily remarked Zaheer, a fourth class student from Moosanagar.

Earlier, marking brotherhood between the two communities, wrists bands bearing the message ‘I am an Indian’ were exchanged. At 6.30 p.m., followed by a short prayer, the students broke their day-long fast with fruits and water.

Delicious chicken biryani, vegetable fried rice and curries were dished out, which the hungry children lapped up, sitting together in a small hall.

“We are trying to promote communal harmony in old city. Activities like these sow seeds of unity in young minds so that when they grow up, they know the meaning of togetherness,” said Francis, director of PIN. “The purpose of this event is to have a feeling of oneness and togetherness so that there is no animosity between Hindus and Muslims,” Jaico Gervasis, principal of Little Flower High School in Abids who is a contributor to PIN said.

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