Season of haleem and dates is here

Bye Bonalu, welcome Ramzan. The City of Hyderabad is getting ready for the next big event, Ramzan. Vibrant and colourful, dabbled in piety, Ramzan generates a lot of social interests and business.

The Old City, the hub of Ramzan related activities, has numerous shop keepers who await Ramzan with eagerness. It provides households a chance to shop for anything and everything — from utility items to exotic sweets, especially dates.

However, many in Old City are yet to set up their haleem counters and are going to start only after the holy month of Ramzan begins. Veterans say haleem available in many parts of the City are not authentic.

“For the last 20 years we start our counter from day one of Ramzan. These days you can see plenty of haleem counters in every nook and corner of the City, but not many of them serve you the authentic haleem. If you want to get the real and authentic taste of haleem the best time is only once the festival kicks off,” said Abdul Rafaaq, owner of Madina Cafe. Even the big players in the market like Pista House and Shadab will start serving the delectable dish from the first day of the holy month.

Step into Old City and you can witness a festive spirit. The commercial activities have already picked up in the Charminar area. For many shopkeepers in the area, it’s difficult to manage the crowd that normally collects in the busy square. The roads are chock-a-block with people and many parts of the Old City remain in business even after midnight.

Sherwanis, rumi topis and joothis that are the hottest selling products and more in demand in cloth stores. “Many, who want to avoid the last minute rush buy clothes earlier. Women of the community also believe in shopping in advance. They prefer buying beforehand as they can get the clothes stitched in advance to avoid the heavy rush at tailoring shops. Many others buy things

ahead believing that the prices may go high once the festival starts,” said Md Ali, from Yousufian Market, Nampally.

Apart from the haleem and clothes there is a lot of demand for dates. “There is a special demand for dates from Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iran and Algeria. Dates from these countries are in demand because of the taste and quality. Dates from Algeria are not very sweet as compared to other dates and are mostly preferred by the diabetic people. The price of these dates ranges from `60 to `400 per kilogram depending upon the brand. Shayani, Mariyam, Ajwa and Hozafati dates are commonly preferred by Hyderabadis,” said Khalid Khan, owner of Kashmiri Dry Fruits, Pathergatti.

Once the festival kicks off, a lot of people from nearby districts also come to Hyderabad for shopping and offer special prayers. Keeping that in mind arrangements have already been made for the Shabe-e-Barat in the Old City.

Tags: Haleem, Ramzan, The Old City

Category: City, City News