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PHOTOS: AP AND R. ESWARRAJ

time for togetherness Iftar parties and Navrathri celebrations are the highlights of the festival season

For the last few weeks Muslims in the city have observed Ramzan and Id is the culmination of the holy month. The highlight of the Ramzan has been the iftar parties. Iftar is the ritual of breaking the fast after evening prayers and it often includes lavish community meals.

The iftar meal begins with dates and water to break the fast and will then include fruits, juices, snacks and of course different types of biryanis. The party is not complete until one has had sheer-korma. It is a traditional sweet made from vermicelli, sugar, milk, dry fruits, cardamom and cinnamon. Served chilled it tastes great.

“It’s a common habit to drink at least one type of juice. The rationale of that habit is since we fast the entire day, a lot of heat gets accumulated in the body. Juices have a cooling effect,” says Dilavez, a homemaker.

Iftar parties are meant to symbolize brotherhood as people from all communities are accorded a warm welcome. “It’s more of a community event when people of other faiths attend iftar parties,” says Afwan I., financial advisor, ShareKhan. “I eagerly look forward to attending iftar parties. They are fun,” says Nihar Josnewala, a student of Mass Communications at Manipal. After the meal it is time for shopping. And retail outlets around the city including the big malls are geared to meet the demand. Big Bazaar has come up with an exclusive Iftar Corner, where one can find all that is needed for a party. “Our focus is to offer something special to the people. Every year we have many slab-based offers during all festive occasions. We also have free facials, mehendi, hair-colouring and nail-art to brighten the celebrations,” says Dharmendra, manager at the retail store.

Navrathri is again a festival that is celebrated in a big way in the city. It is especially fun for the Gujarati community who start the nine-day long festivities by filling an earthen pot with green gram and lighting a diya in it. Then there are the earthen pots with holes on all sides known as garbo which are believed to herald happiness and prosperity. The garbo is kept at home for all the nine days and decorated with fresh flowers everyday. The celebrations culminate with the usual elaborate dandia.

For Tamilians it is the time to worship the goddess Durga. For the first three days, pujas are performed to the different forms of the goddess Durga, the next three days are for goddess Laxmi and the last three days for goddess Saraswati. Every house has an installation called kolu, which features a variety of dolls. Dolls also come in themes such as marriage, parks, cricket match and zoos and are arranged with great zeal.

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