KARACHI: In the fast life of Karachi it may get very difficult to pay attention to your kitchen. Therefore it becomes convenient for people stuck in routines to just grab some snacks that have come to be recognised as a part of Ramazan traditions for Iftar. And the pakora and samosa sellers, who can be found almost everywhere these days, are more than happy to help.

The snacks can all be very easily prepared at home. But even there if you rely mostly on other people to cook for you, you may be at a disadvantage. So every Ramazan when people talk about the benefits of fasting, patience and self-discipline, my mind goes back to our old cook Mohammad Din, who used to think Ramazan was all about eating rich oily foods, especially at Sehri and Iftar.

“Khao beta, khao. Jaan banao!” Dino would say to us after putting a pechdaar paratha dripping with butter on our plates which he expected us to have with fried eggs and chicken karahi. To wash it all down he put before us jugs full of cold sweet lassi and milk, making my big brother nauseous.

My brother, a finicky eater anyway, only wanted to have something light for Sehri along with plain water. As for Dino himself, he seemed to panic at the sound of the azan signalling an end to the eating and gulped down several pints of milk in one go.

The real aim of Ramazan and fasting, of course, is teaching one discipline and being grateful for the food that we receive. Refraining from eating or drinking for some 10 to 12 hours also helps cleanse our bodies. It is like detox. But many people don’t realise this or there wouldn’t have been so many stalls taking extra pains to fry pakora, samosa, kachori, rolls and jalebi. They are there because they are in demand.

The rush outside places selling these snacks is just terrible. Cars pull up and park at awkward angles making it difficult for other vehicles to manoeuvre around. People lose their temper and clash in their rush to buy pakora and jalebi.

And while throwing away their money on unhealthy foods they develop blind spots due to which they simply fail to see the many fruits the season has to offer. The dates are also not as popular as the fried stuff. Then there is also the excuse of fruits being very expensive. But when spending money on something, why not spend it on healthy things? Quite frankly even the fried stuff if prepared at home is not as rich and unhealthy as what is available in the market.

After having a heavy Iftar, many people complain of indigestion and heartburn but they are back to the same snacks the very next day as they associate them with the traditions of Ramazan. But what they are forgetting is the discipline and control which they really should be aiming for during this holy month.

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2018