Srinagar, September 02: They are again roaming the dark alleys in the pitch-dark early hours, beating drums to wake people up for their last meal before another dawn-to-dusk fast during Ramadan.
They are the Sehar Khans, a centuries-old tradition in Muslim-majority Kashmir that has returned to the region along with long lost peace.
“The militancy has disappeared now, that is why I decided to resume this sacred family job,” Mohammad Rafiq, a Sehar Khan, told Reuters on Tuesday, September 1.
For years, nighttime walkers in Kashmir ran the risk of getting tough grilling or even worse a bullet by nervous Indian troops.
But now, a slow-moving peace process between India and Pakistan, which both claim the scenic Himalayan region, has eased tension.
And with the decline in violence, the Sehar Khans are venturing out at night to wake the faithful during the holy fasting month.
“I started the job this year,” said 55-year-old drummer Abdul Khaliq Bhat, who beats drums through a dark lane in Srinagar, Kashmir’s summer capital dotted with security check posts and police bunkers.
“I do believe that security has improved a lot.”
Kashmir is divided into two parts and ruled by India and Pakistan, which have fought two of their three wars since the 1947 independence over the region.
Pakistan and the UN back the right of the Kashmir people for self-determination, an option opposed by New Delhi.
More than 60,000 people have been killed since Kashmiris took up arms against the Indian rule in 1989.
Tradition
The tradition of Ramadan human alarm clocks goes back centuries in Kashmir.
Previously, a Sehar Khan used to loudly recite verses from the Qur’an, praise for Prophet Muhammed (peace and blessings be upon him) and other speeches explaining the importance of fasting.
He would be in traditional Kashmiri attire and besides beating a drum might blow a sheep horn pipe.
Some Sehar Khans say the Ramadan job is a vital source of income, as people tip the drummers for the service they have provided during the fasting month.
At the end of Ramadan, the drum beaters go door to door to collect cash and food for `Eid ul-Fitr one of two big celebrations of the Islamic calendar.
“I am doing it for Allah and, of course, for some additional money for Eid celebrations,” Bhat, the Srinagar drummer, said before chanting loudly “Wakhta-e-Sehar (time to get up).
Some Kashmiri faithful, like Khan Mohammad Rafiq, do the job to earn heavenly reward during Ramadan.
“It gives us satisfaction and this is a way you can earn more sawab (god’s reward).”
-Agencies