“The sound of the siren and the fragrance of henna in the house mark the beginning of Ramadan. People often think that Ramadan is a month of fasting and end up talking about the mechanics of not eating and drinking but I certainly feel it is more about being a better person and improving my spiritual consciousness.

I have made wonderful memories with my family members and friends during Ramadan. I used to have friends from various religious backgrounds and the most awaited moment for them was me to end the fast so that we could go out and eat Haleem together. We would go to old city to taste delicacies of Hyderabad such as Patthar ka Gosht and Kabsa Laham every year.

But few years later, as we grew up, every one in the family got busy. I moved to Bangalore for my studies and my mother was appointed as Principal for a medical college and moved to Andhra Pradesh for work, because of which we couldn’t spend much time together.

This is the first time in four years that I got the chance to spend time with my family during the holy month of Ramadan, thanks to the lockdown.

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But Ramzan feels completely different this year. We couldn’t go to the Masjid to offer Namaaz, we couldn’t go shopping either. We offered Namaaz together at home with each member of the family reading the prayer everyday.

Every year, we would distribute food for the needy at our Masjid, but this year we could only try to help the poor and needy in our area, who were impacted due to the lockdown. I am glad that I am able to spend time with my parents and siblings this year but I hope this lockdown ends soon so that I can meet my friends and cousins and treat them with Sheer Khorma, the special sweet dish of Eid.”

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