Lal Hussain, 66, ‘Ramazan drummer’ beats a drum while ringing the doorbells in Bani, an old residential area in Rawalpindi. PHOTO: AFP
RAWALPINDI:
A centuries-old tradition in the subcontinent of waking residents for sehri during the holy month of Ramazan is now catching its breath in Rawalpindi as technological advances and changing social mores make the practice increasingly obsolete.
For generations, men walked through Muslim neighborhoods in the pre-dawn hours, first beating empty tin cans and later drums, shouting for the faithful to rise for their pre-fast meal.
But with the advent of modern technology and social media, many city dwellers no longer sleep until sehri. Instead, they stay awake past midnight, engaged in worship or browsing online platforms.
Historically, the practice dates back about 500 years, when lamps were lit at high points to signal the time of sehri. As soon as the lights appeared, the residents would understand that it was time to wake up.
In later years, groups of men replaced the lamps with empty ghee and cooking oil cans tied around their necks with ropes, beating them with small sticks while shouting, “Rise up, you who are fasting – it is time for sehri.” The practice was considered both a virtuous act and a seasonal way of life.
Subsequently, loudspeakers and sirens became popular means of alerting residents. Sirens still sound in many places – typically an hour before sehri and again at the time of iftar. Throughout Ramazan these groups would perform their rounds and return on Eid to collect flour, sugar, tea, rice or cash as eidi from grateful households.
Tin containers eventually gave way to drums, and until the early 2000s, numerous groups continued the tradition. Over time, however, their numbers declined.
What were once two or three competing groups have now been reduced to a handful. Today, some residents object to the early morning drumming, claiming that children are sleeping, students are studying, and elderly or sick family members are being disturbed. In previous decades, families welcomed callers and rewarded them generously on Eid.
In Punjab, waking residents for sehri remained a seasonal occupation for 70 to 80 years. Now even the few who continue often receive little or no eidi.
Sehri ringer Fareeduddin, who recently completed his Ramazan rounds in Rawalpindi, said the tradition runs in his family. “My grandfather and father both performed this duty every Ramazan. There are three brothers; two have left the work and now my own son is no longer continuing it. I am keeping the mission of my ancestors alive even though it is becoming increasingly difficult. It is a great virtue. Until 2000 we were valued. Now people have quarreled with us and I have only returned on several occasions. after many pleas, along with warnings not to to re-enter certain streets.”
Where Rawalpindi once had between 15 and 20 such groups, now only three remain – and even they may disappear within the next few years. Residents claim that with scientific advances and cell phone alerts, traditional callers are no longer needed.
The practice of signaling sehri and iftar through cannon fire is also longstanding in the Arab world. In Egypt, the tradition of firing a cannon to mark the time of sehri allegedly began in 1439 and gradually spread across the Arab region and into the subcontinent. Over the centuries, different methods have evolved, each reflecting the customs of its era.
What was once a treasured communal ritual and a source of seasonal income is now on the brink of extinction, overtaken by modern life and changing social rhythms.
