They might heckle over a single rupee on most days of the year, but for niyaz-related affairs, many in Hyderabad don’t care about the expenses incurred. This year, buying quality pulses and grains in the city has been a cheaper affair than last year.

“Haleem is the preferred choice of food for niyaz this year; consumers are buying pulses and wheat more than rice this time around even though the price of rice has also decreased,” explains Ameen Khairani, an established retailer-cum-wholesaler of grocery items in the oldest Tower Market of Hyderabad. “A cauldron of haleem caters to about 100 guests while a biryani cauldron would hardly serve 60 or so.”

Khairani describes how the overall retail costs of spices and ingredients used in cooking haleem have declined by 10 per cent as compared to last year’s prices.

“Sella rice is sold for Rs70/kg to Rs90/kg against last year’s Rs110/kg-Rs115/kg. Wheat, the main ingredient of haleem besides lentils, is being sold at Rs42/kg against last year’s Rs48/kg. Similarly, the price of spices has dropped by 20 per cent,” he says.

With pulses, grain and rice prices in Hyderabad lower this year, commemoration of Muharram rituals injects greater volume to the city’s food economy

“The price rate for pulses varies. Pulse moong is Rs140/kg against last year’s Rs125/kg; pulse masoor Rs112/kg against last year’s Rs130/kg and pulse channa is Rs110/kg against Rs100/kg of last year,” he says. With prices generally low, haleem is the best way to host many people at niyaz gatherings without it being an extra burden on the wallet.

Niyaz is in fact a tradition of Muharram and other Islamic months when people with diverse community backgrounds distribute food amongst other people or invite relatives and friends over. This kind of langar is served at shrines too. In many localities of Hyderabad, haleem is cooked on a mohalla basis too: various neighbours still get together to collect donations and cook haleem on the street.

On Muharram 9 and 10, niyaz and fateha (conveying food, virtuous deeds, and Quranic verses to martyrs of Karbala) reaches its zenith, as people from various sects opt to make or buy various foods for distribution. In fact, distribution of food to the destitute and needy is aimed at conveying its spiritual reward to the martyrs of Karbala.

This centuries-old tradition has not only refused to wither away; its base is actually expanding every year in Hyderabad, with those belonging to Shia and Sunni sects commemorating the occasion and the rituals in their own traditional ways. Even religious minorities such as the Hindu community are known for serving to the poor to mark this occasion.

Shopkeepers argue in fact that the much talked about factor of inflation has failed to douse the spirit of commemoration. What people care about is the quality of food and soft drinks to be served as niyaz. Khairani assesses a 40 per cent increase in sales during Muharram. His clients — those who buy in bulk — include buyers from far-off districts Mirpurkhas, Badin, Jamshoro, Matiari, and Tandojam. Wholesalers and retailers keep their purchases going on consumers’ trend of demand; for different spices and grains, only a limited amount is bought a time as stocks are otherwise prone to disease.

“People tend to use the sella variety of rice because of its aroma; we purchase it from Punjab as Sindh mostly produces a coarse variety of rice,” he adds, while trying to explain the popularity of the rice variety for niyaz purposes.

The trend of niyaz connects people in a cycle: from the wholesaler to the commercial kitchen owners, from the grocer to the ordinary home cook, niyaz benefits many people in many ways. Many food-related businesses wait for times such as Muharram or Rabiul Awwal to see a seasonal spike in business. In these months, food-related professions tend to put their all in arranging supplies to meet demand.

“The trend of niyaz has grown. Customers’ demand for various food items during Muharram increases at least ten times … this is what I have been noting for the past few years,” argues veteran grocer Shakeel Ahmed.

“More and more people are now trying to do something during the first 10 days of Muharram as some form of commemoration,” he says, while alluding to the media’s wide coverage of Muharram-related activities. He believes such exposure on television channels has influenced people’s choices as well.

Retailers and wholesalers agree that sale and purchase of grains like rice, wheat, pulses, gram and soft drinks, milk, spices, dry fruit always record a steep rise in Muharram or month of Rabiul Awal to celebrate Eid-i-Miladun Nabi (SAW).

Poultry business, in Muharram, too gets a positive reaction regardless of the price of poultry. Many also opt for chhola/channa (gram) biryani for distribution as langar if they find meat supplies somewhat expensive.

Although niyaz continues for the entire month, most observe it between Muharram 7 and 10.

The niyaz of Hazrat Abbas (RA), Imam Hussain’s brother, described as hazri among Shia Muslims, is carried out on Muharram 8 at a large scale. One such Muharram 8 niyaz is held at a Civil Lines bungalow, which is owned by Dr Shah Mohammad Bhatti and Ghulam Ali Murtaza. This gathering has become an annual fixture: the young and elderly, rich and poor visit the bungalow to have food.

This niyaz coincides with the mourning on embers (aag per matam) in Tando Jehania, held since time immemorial. Those returning from mourning are served food at Bhatti’s place, with marsias and nohas being recited at a high pitch on a sound system outside.

“Last year, we hosted over 100 cauldrons at the very least,” Bhatti says. He narrates that they had started niyaz in 1996 with a single cauldron of biryani a day between Muharram 1 and 10. Now, the number is increasing every year. He avoids disclosing expenses considering it something immaterial. “In terms of participants, the Safar 24 majlis in our native home in Gambat is a much bigger event than this niyaz,” he says, before hinting close to a million rupees expenses on it.

For other homes, though, there are traditional and modern forms of caterers available.

In the past, there used to be a few cooks in the city who were renowned for their tasty recipes. But things have changed now, as the pervasive commemoration of religious rituals (apart from weddings and other festive occasions) has encouraged the mushrooming of pakwan centres (caterers) in the last few years in Hyderabad.

“Between 400 and 500 pakwan centres exist in Hyderabad district now,” estimates Mohammad Ali Doomroh, who has been in this business for 25 years. “It is a full-fledged business enterprise, well-off people now invest in it,” he explains.

For consumers, these pakwan centres offer two types of services. Consumers can either use the pakwan centre’s premises to get food prepared while paying the costs of electricity, water, fuel wood and premises to the pakwan centre owner. The other option is to simply place an order for a certain number of cauldrons of food. Charges for both options are different.

Doomroh, who runs his commercial kitchen at a rented site in Latifabad, discloses that if a customer is placing an order, then he charges Rs500 per cauldron, inclusive of payment of cooks and other services like labour, water, fuel food, cauldron etc. “If a client brings their cook, grain or meat, then I usually charge Rs250 per cauldron. It’s that simple,” he says.

Then there is another trend carried forward by generations: rose-flavoured milk mixed with dry fruit and usually served as refreshments at sabeels. Across Hyderabad, the sale of dry fruit increases — but this is an extraordinary increase since dry fruit is not usually or widely used in cooking food.

“At tazias, people present dry fruits to have their prayers answered,” explains grocer Shakeel Ahmed. “So now, I also have to check whether my supplies of dry fruit are adequate to meet consumers’ demand,” he smilingly says. Some years ago, he says, he had felt that the tradition of niyaz was on the decline. Not anymore.

“Inflation hasn’t made any significant impact on consumers’ religious celebrations or commemorations. Those who offer food to people in Muharram tend to reduce other expenses and save up before Muharram. The same goes for the niyaz on Rabiul Awal 12, the volume for which has increased quite considerably too,” Ahmed says.

His brother, Abdul Hafeez, adds that middle class or rich consumers tend to lay great emphasis on the quality of product they are buying. “Consumers now tell us: ‘Forget about costs, just give me the best quality.’ To a few, I offered them a brand of cooking oil that I was using at home to satisfy their demand for quality demand.”

Meanwhile, with food gathering greater emphasis in recent times, haleem sellers Saleem Bhatti and his son Sharjeel Bhatti have restricted orders in an attempt to minimise food wastage.

“Customers fail to preserve its quality until their guests’ arrival. This in turn wastes whatever has been cooked, and brings a bad name to our business. So now, we provide only two cauldrons to each customer,” says Sharjeel.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, October 25th, 2015

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