Do villagers also throw iftar parties? Knowledgeable people's reply has largely been in the negative. It is an urban and recent phenomenon. No denying that it has direct link with money. Business houses, professional or other bodies now throw iftar parties. At times members of the top notches of society find themselves in a dilemma over which of the several iftar parties they would attend. If one is held at the busy commercial hub of Motijheel, another is in the diplomatic belt of Uttara and the third one may be in Dhanmondi.
Quite a few of these important personalities would have liked to attend at least a couple, if not more, if only the unrelenting traffic jam had not been there. In that case the strategy would be to attend one long before the iftar time and only after taking a morsel or two rush for the next where the post-iftar ritual could be performed while projecting all along the towering image and importance. Now one is forced to shelve any such plan simply because the capital's or for that matter other cities' roads would not permit any such liberty.
All iftar parties have some artificial aura about them simply because they are either a demonstration, albeit at times not wilful, of what is expected of them rather than a sincere and humble submission to the call of the soul. Contrast such parties with the daily distribution of modest iftar items among a sizeable number of the poor who know they won't have to be disappointed. In long queue they wait for their turn and get their share.
When tables are neatly arranged and waiters in their uniform serve from one table to another in a manner it is done in five-star hotels, the entire atmosphere assumes a kind of formality that is in direct contrast with the fraternity forged in an informal environment at lower levels of society. Rubbing shoulders with big shots is what brings some and still others feel they have to express their allegiance, in the hope of favours of course, by their constant presence at the parties.
Some of the iftar parties are however not without politics. Political parties throw such parties and the heads of political outfits send invitation cards to their opponents with whom they are not in talking terms. Such exchange of cards make news but this is not followed up by gracing each other's parties. At times even the masquerade is blatantly shed and only the chums are invited. There issues of politics are discussed and even guidelines of future politics are given for journalists to make important stories. Iftar parties now serve more purposes than they were once intended to do.
It is against such hybrid iftar parties, the village mosques have a tested system of bringing villagers closer to each other. One or more people opt for offering iftar on a shared basis for all the devotees attending the post-iftar prayer or in its absence bring iftar items according to each one's ability and then together they share those in an equitable manner. They do not differentiate between the rich and the poor and the well-to-do take the responsibility of sharing the major costs among themselves.
Their modest effort to share with each other is something that makes people's bond stronger. In urban setting, such cosy and unflattering rapport is hard to develop. If iftar becomes a means to flaunting wealth for some, it is just the bare minimum on which one can survive and pray to Almighty Allah for salvation. For some ritual surpasses the inner meaning of religion and for others, pretence is foreign to their nature. They would never give in to any outward temptation and are happy with the little material possession they have. God's mercy and blessings are what they crave for. Iftar never appears to them as something so coveting but it is the prayer on which they concentrate most.
The culture of throwing iftar parties
Nilratan Halder | Published: July 26, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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