'I am talking of sacrificing your breakfast, lunch, all kinds of hard and soft liquids, even cigarettes; in addition, depriving yourself of uninterrupted eight-hour sleep.'

'Ramzan is the month of sacrifice,' I said.

 

'No, Bakra Eid is the month of sacrifice,' replied Babboo.

 

'I am talking of a different kind of sacrifice. In this sacrificial exercise, goats, sheep, cows and camels do not figure.'

 

'What do you mean?'

'I mean that these particular chaupayas are spared by the ashraful-makhlooqat and left in peace, to go forth and multiply. I am talking of sacrifice of the SELF. How a mussalman must sacrifice his tann, mann, dhan in this holy month and make a serious endeavour to set his record in order — to at least hope for a respectable place for himself in the hereafter. I am talking of sacrificing your breakfast, lunch, all kinds of hard and soft liquids, even cigarettes; in addition, depriving yourself of uninterrupted eight-hour sleep.'

 

'But haven’t you noticed that though the meals are sacrificed, this forfeiture is more than compensated at the end of the day with the first sound of the azaan-i-maghrib. I have not seen such impressive display of victuals anywhere: pakoras, samosas, dahi baray, chaat, patties, shami kebabs, different kinds of sweets, fruits, sherbets and lassi. Not only that; after consuming all this, they still have the energy to have dinner before going to bed! Few hours later, another round of repast at sehri. Not only in rich establishments but one sees this in most middle and lower middle class homes. So, where is the sacrifice, for heavens sake?' Babboo said.

'You haven’t taken into account the blessings of this holy month. This is the time of the year when we give zakat and feed the poor,' I argued.

 

'What about the rest of the 11 months? You think the poor need to be fed only during Ramzan? And as to zakat, now come on, how many people give zakat willingly? If the government was not there to promptly deduct it from their saving accounts, do you think they would pay willingly? I know a number of guys who are smart and get their money transferred from their saving account to a current account in order to avoid zakat deduction. Those who forget to advise the bank in time keep sulking at having been made to part with a fraction of their ‘hard earned’ money. They have this argument that the government misuses the zakat funds. If you think they are worried about their zakat not reaching the poor you are mistaken. They know fully well that the poor would remain poor — zakat or no zakat!'

'Since when have you started to feel for the poor?' I teased Babboo.

'I may not worry about the poor, but tell me, why is it that the majority of people become more selfish and greedy in this holy month?'

'What are you trying to say?'

'I am saying that this is the only month when almost everyone whose business has anything to do with necessities of life such as atta, sugar and other items of daily use, goes on a money making spree. At no other time of the year they are so well organised and united. Systematically and scientifically, and with perfect coordination, the big guns hoard sugar and atta, while those in the retailing business increase prices manifold. Nowhere in the land of the pure will you find any deviation from this loot-mar.'

'I suppose this has something to do with the demand and supply mechanics,' I said.

'Nonsense! Instead of decreased demand in this month of abstinence — when people are consuming less atta, chawal, daal, meat and vegetables, plus zero consumption of tea during the day — why are the prices of all these items doubled? Organised racket, that’s what I call it.'

 

'Yaar, there are good people and there are bad ones. Dunya isi ka naam hai. Good people pray and seek forgiveness for their sins in this month; a few bad ones hoard foodstuff and charge exorbitant rates.'

'Few bad ones? Tell me one dukandar who is honest with his customer in this month! What is interesting, these rascals also fast, pray five times a day, even find time to offer taraveeh. Most of them have performed Hajj too and love to be called Haji Sahab.'

Babboo was presenting an unreasonably dirty picture of aziz humwatnon. So I said, 'Yaar, like they have Christmas in December, Ramzan too provides an opportunity for people to make some extra money in order to celebrate Eid. You should not forget that they pay extra money happily and don’t mind frivolous deviations as being charged Rs60 per kilo for sugar instead of Rs40, as per the ruling of the Punjab High Court.'

'Don’t you agree this is contempt of court?' said Babboo.

'Choro yar! Bus karo! You should avoid kajj bahsi at least in religious matters.'

 

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