The NKDA ground in DF Block, New Town, hosted Eid namaz for the second time in the year but it was clear from afar that the reins of the state administration had changed hands since Eid-ul-Fitr was observed at the same venue on March 20.
On May 28, the cloth canopy that the local administration builds for the community prayer was draped in saffron and white, mirroring the BJP’s flag colours. “All these years, it was blue and white (in keeping with former chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s preference). We noticed the change when we came to check out the arrangements yesterday. The decorator had played it so safe that he had not even bothered to check with us about the change. We pulled his leg, asking how he had managed to source so much saffron fabric so soon after the election results,” said one of the organisers.
But all the congregants The Telegraph Salt Lake spoke to had taken the change in good spirits. “Colour doesn’t matter. The day is all about faith and humanity. Be it Eid or Durga puja, Bengal has a tradition of celebrating festivals together,” said Md. Shahbaz, who stays in an Action Area III complex.
Women's prayer enclosure at New Town playground in DF Block
Indeed, in a picture-perfect show of harmony, accepting zakat donations and arranging post-prayer snacks were Mohini Mohan Sarkar and Gourmohan Dandapat. “We volunteer every year as the others are busy offering prayers themselves,” said Sarkar, a volunteer with the Secular Forum of New Town, which hosts the prayer, along with New Town Citizens’ Welfare Fraternity. “This is my fourth year,” he smiled.
By the time the faithful were doing sajda, some late-comers were rushing in, prayer mat in hand. “The gathering seems to number about 800, including 300 women. Bakri Eid is usually less crowded than Eid-ul-Fitr as people leave for their villages to offer the sacrifice,” said Yasmin Rehman, one of the organisers.
Zareen Zaman was visiting parents in Eden Court in Action Area II from Germany to celebrate Eid. “It is good to find a separate enclosed space for women here. Such arrangements are found in Central Asian countries but were not too common till recently in India. The ventilation inside was good,” she said, with her six-year-old son Zaidan by her.
Two-year-old Arhan must have been among the smallest attendees. “He bathed early in the morning and was ready in his new clothes long before we were. This is his first Eid prayer outing, so he was very excited to come with his elder brothers,” said father Shabaz, adding that the family would be headed from the park for the goat sacrifice.
The new restrictions on cow slaughter had not affected the plans of the people spoken to. Asif Khan of Sunny Fort said he had directed his butcher to sacrifice two goats for his family and friends. “The imams have appealed to us not to sacrifice cows this year. In any case, sacrifice of big animals was hardly ever done in New Town,” he said, with his son Humza standing by him. The family has donated several goats to an orphanage in Baruipur for the inmates to celebrate Eid, Khan said.
The most stylishly dressed was Farraz Hassan, thanks to his checked headgear. “This is a kaffiyeh that I got during my stay in the UK as a student. When Israel started attacking Palestine, I started wearing it in protest marches as a mark of solidarity,” said the New Town AC Block resident.
The prayer, conducted by Ikramal Hassan Molla, an imam assigned by the West Bengal Minorities Development and Finance Corporation, ended with servings of sewai, kachuri and sherbet. Prasanta Barai, the member-secretary of NKDA, dropped by as a guest. BJP MLA Piyush Kanodia had been invited but did not come.
