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| India-Pakistan |
| Eid drums fall silent at Ajmer for first time in 796 years |
| 2007-10-13 |
| Ajmer, India: For the past 796 years, Eid was announced in a special way at the 13th century dargah of sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti. The sound of nakkaras (drums) and jhanjh, a brass instrument that helps maintain rhythm, would reverberate across the shrine to indicate that the festive moon had been potted. On Saturday that age-old practice was broken for the first time. Those associated with the practice for generations said they decided not to play the instruments as a mark of respect for those who lost their lives in the Thursday blast. "It was the call of our conscience," says Muzaffar Bharti, who belongs to the select group of traditional musicians called nakkarchis and is also secretary of the Dargah Hereditary Staff Association. The blast seems to have taken the music out of the lives of everyone who live around the dargah. Shops have reopened and the beggars are back. But the number of devotees and customers has dropped. So has pre-Eid business. Zamil Hussain, who sells roses outside the shrine, says the blast has killed the festive spirit that Eid ushers in. "We cannot even feel that Eid is just a few hours away," he says. Navratna Vaishnao, who sells sweets and incense sticks, says sales are down 80%. Bangle seller Murlidhar Phulwani hasn't had a single customer through the day. "This has never happened before," he says. Ahmed Raza, chief executive officer, Dargah Committee, sums up the prevailing sentiment, "Something like this has happened for the first time in the 796-year-old history of the dargah . Due to the deaths, we want to celebrate Eid with simplicity." |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #1 |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-10-13 23:42 |