Srinagar city attracts a huge number of fleeting populations who visit the city at short notice for an urgent, unputdownable purpose. This fleeting population, which is mainly from the countryside, is what makes Srinagar city so beautiful. We see people milling in and out of the railway station at Nowgam in mornings at evenings – majority of them have to attend regular offices, a large chunk of this population has appointments with doctors or have a relative admitted in the sole maternity, or tertiary care hospital of the city. It is these thousands of souls who visit Srinagar for two to three days which forms the majority of the fleeting population.
Due to the complex nature of their visits, sometimes during the fasting season of Ramadan they face issues with the pre-dawn meals and the evening Iftaar. What is heartening to know is that there are social organizations who provide Iftar during evening hours at important points of the city where the chances of accumulation of this fleeing population is the highest – places like hospital courtyards or gates of hospitals. There are dedicated organizations who day in day out ensure both Iftaari and sehri for people at these odd hours. The volunteers sometimes wake up during mid-night to ensure that every soul in the city has a proper pre-dawn meal so that they can observe fast during the day.
Most of these organizations are run by volunteers who consider it their rightful duty to fetch vegetables, beverages and fruits from the market, prepare food and then serve it to the fasting attendees outside hospitals. Kashmir is unique this way. Even during the floods of 2014, the volunteers at the valley’s sole maternity hospital served free food to volunteers for many days to come. It is this spirit of Kashmir that keeps Kashmiriyat alive even in the most unmanageable situations.
Who are these people who leave their sleep and in the middle of the night ensure no one goes without a pre-dawn meal? Or who are these people who before breaking their own fast ensures no one goes hungry and offers basil-soaked milk and dates to everyone who due to paucity of time or money cannot afford it? These are humans like us who have truly understood the meaning of humanity. Big salutes to them.
Discussion about this post