RAMAZAN seems to have become a festive occasion instead of the month in which we control all human desires which include feasting. Let me recollect the pre-Pakistan days of fasting in the 1940s.

In the month of Shaaban, our mother would say that Ramazan was approaching and there would be saving because there would be no lunch.

The middle class had three meals, mostly daal roti. Mother would feel very proud in saying that we had meat every Sunday. Milk was only for children and fruits were used by the sick as medicine. I feel amazed these days when I hear on television that the poor cannot afford fruit.

During Ramazan there was no reduction of school or office timings. The daily PT classes were held as usual. For Sehri we ate daal roti. Iftar was a pinch of salt or one date per child. After maghrib prayers it was a meal of dal roti and then taraveeh. Iftari was prepared only on Manjhla roza (Fourteenth ramazan) and bara roza (Jumatul wida). There was no tablespread and each child received his share on a small plate.

Today TV channels keep mentioning the fact that in Western countries prices fall during festivals. The reason for this is that those lands are a merchant’s market. Everybody is taxed and pays social security — even an artisan like a carpenter. Thus the people of those lands are always short of cash. The merchants offer sales during festivals to attract cash-strapped customers.

On the contrary, in Pakistan, only a small percentage of the people pay income tax. There is no consumer resistance by our nouveau riche class and they are willing to pay any price for feasting in Ramazan, hence the price escalation.

Prof S. H. Shafqat

Karachi

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play