Hyderabad: Hundreds of people thronged the lanes of Old City ahead of Eid-al-Fitr on Monday. The bustling lanes around Charminar, Abids, Tolichowki, Dilsukhnagar, Moazzam Jahi, and others came alive with people thronging markets for last-minute purchases. They were decked out with lights and huge chandeliers covering the skylines of these lanes.
On the last day of Ramadan, markets were filled with shoppers, with people buying clothes, footwear, crockery, jewellery, and other such articles. At the Afzalgunj market, people lined up to buy attar, dry fruits, and sewaiyan. “Like every year, I will be preparing ‘sheer khurma’, biryani, and bagana (vegetable) kurma. Many of our relatives will also be joining,” said Shireen Begum of Begum Bazar.
Khurshid Ahmed of Saidabad pointed out that attar is considered a symbol of purity and connects to Prophet Muhammad. About the celebrations, an excited 75-year-old Ahmed said, “Eid-al-Fitr is a time for spiritual reflection, prayer, and performing good deeds. I will wake up tomorrow, offer prayers, then eat sheer khurma, enjoy with my grandchildren, and give them eidi.”
Eid-al-Fitr, which means ‘festival of the breaking of the fast’, marks the end of Ramadan, a holy month where people from the Muslim community do not consume food and drink between dawn and sunset, known as fasting.
Saiba Bano from Vanasthalipuram came to make purchases at the renowned Madina Market. “I finally got the time today after taking leave from the job and bought clothes. I consider it auspicious to buy clothes and jewellery every year during Ramadan,” she told TOI.
Meanwhile, locals and tourists also thronged Charminar and Mecca Masjid. Several were donning traditional attire. Several eateries, both popular and regular ones, in the Old City were brimming with biryani and haleem lovers. Some of the shopkeepers were also elated about the sales this season. “We saw a huge footfall this season compared to the last season. This is because biryani and haleem are the most popular dishes here,” Syed Mustafa of Madina Hotel told TOI.
However, for some vendors like Syed Mustafa at Afzalgunj market, the sales dropped this year. “This year, the sale went only up to Rs 2-3 lakh. This is because the prices of sewaiyan have shot up drastically over the past year. While it was being sold at Rs 60 per kg last time, this time prices hiked up to Rs 120, which is why people are buying in less quantity.”
