FAITH, FAST AND FEAST

What is the role of food in the month of fasting? Haseeb A Drabu professes that its epicurean aspects are markers of Kashmiri identity

- Haseeb A Drabu

It may seem a tad paradoxical that along with the long hours of fasting, there is an intricate tradition of gastronomy that is associated with Mahremzan (Mahi means the month, Ramzan). Even as Ramzan is dedicated to piety, fasting, and abstinence, the consumption and distribution of food hold considerable significance during this month. The interplay of fasting of the faithful, with feasting, not restricted to only to the faithful, is a nuanced one that transcends many different aspects; from the medical to the cultural and from the nutritional to the social.

While it is often said, in jest or disparagingly, that Kashmiris eat more (and better) food during Ramzan, the fact is that understandings of personal needs to eat get reformulated through the experience of fasting. The meaning ascribed to eating not only get redefined, but it also acquires an important symbolic role. Of course, food becomes a site for control of the nafs, it is also a ritual marker of significant social relationships. Contrary to the popular perception that social life tends to be less intense during Ramzan, the fact is that certain relationships get intensified; one, for sure, is the family and the other, of course, is religious solidarity.

THE FAMILY GATHERINGS

While all over the Muslim world, eating in the month of Ramzan is in sharp contrast to everyday practices, in Kashmir, eating, which is usually considered a private affair, becomes a collective act of consumption, food offering and exchange. During Ramzan, without exception, families gather twice a day to partake sahr and iftaar, which is in contrast to the normal practice of daily meals. The family gatherings during sahr and iftaar become profoundly meaningful precisely because they contrast with everyday social behaviour.