Ramzan over, twin cities soak in Eid celebrations

Bhubaneswar/Cuttack: Mohammad Shahid will not study today. His friend Mohammad Safi Arshad won’t either.
Less than a week ago, Shahid, 14, and his friend, both Class VIII students of Guru Nanak English Medium Public School, took the Formative Assessment (FA) I examination, which ended on July 13.
“But that is history now. Today is Eid. Ramzan is over. Nobody will ask me to study.We are only going to have fun today,” Shahid said after the afternoon prayers at the city's Jama Masjid, eager to return to his Reliance Place residence to have chicken biryani.
Several thousand people in the state capital celebrated Eid on Saturday. Over 6,000 people gathered at Jama Masjid, the biggest mosque in Bhubaneswar, in the morning, as people gathered to offer namaaz. The mosque was full and a couple of thousand people even spilled on to the road outside. The other mosques at Mali Sahi, Unit IX and Jharpada were also jam packed till the afternoon.
The Imam at Jama Masjid, Maulana Arif Rabbani, 38, told TOI that Eid was essentially a festival of unity.
“This is the occasion when everyone comes together in celebration. Everyone is on the same platform in front of Allah. Round the year, we commit lots of mistakes. Today is the day we seek maghfirat, or forgiveness from God,” Rabbani, who teaches at Jami-ul Uloom madrassa, said.
“Eid is the biggest festival for Muslims across the globe. Today people have moved away from each other. Therefore, besides the religious point of view, Eid plays a critical role in bringing together,” Javed Ali, a teacher with a government school, said.
On the festival coinciding with Nabakalebara, Rabbani, who has been an Imam with the city’s largest mosque for more than 12 years, said, “It is a coincidence. I cannot remember another occasion when Rath Yatra and Eid have fallen on the same day. All festivals have one objective and that is to bring the community closer. Everyone will be happy today.”
“I came from Bihar with sewai and laccha. Over the last month, I managed to do good business, thanks to Allah,” Ghulam Gaus said.
Meanwhile, non-Muslims on Saturday joined Id-Ul-Fitr celebrations at several places across the state. They offered Eid prayer at Idgah and mosques to mark the occasion.
“I have hardly missed a year since my school days to celebrate Id-Ul-Fitre with my childhood friend Asfaq,” said Satyabrata Sahu, a resident of Kesharpur at Cuttack.
Cuttack city, with a sizable population of Muslims, witnessed colourful decorations on the occasion. Dargha bazaar, Kesharpur, Sutahat, Odiya Bazar, Dewan Bazar, Shaikh bazaar and Seminary chhak were all decorate to celebrate the festival.