Families in Pune gear up to celebrate Eid

Pune: For Hadapsar resident Shehnaz Mapkar, the excitement for Eid is already building up. With the festival just a day away, she is busy making arrangements for the grand feast for her family.
From chopping dry fruits to buying saffron and coordinating the milk supply for sweets, Mapkar has already lined up the savoury menu for the day.
New clothes have been stitched and kept ready for all the members of the household, whereas new drapes and spreads decorate her house for one of the most important dates in the Muslim calendar.
"We start planning for Eid almost two or three days in advance - fixing the menu, arranging raw material and gearing up for the day-long feasting. Depending on the family's economic condition, everyone sets aside a little money for the house's upkeep," said Mapkar.
The festive mood can be seen across all Muslim households in the city.
Elaborating on their plans for Wednesday, Mapkar said she will be making korma this year.
"All the food is prepared in the morning. The first item to be readied is the sheer khurma (milk based sevaiyan enriched with dry fruits) that will be offered to men when they leave the house for their morning prayers. During the day-time then, relatives and neighbours drop in to greet one another. Children too visit their friends' homes to exchange wishes and sweets," she added.
Most families start the preparations almost two weeks before Eid where they buy dresses for themselves with matching shoes and jewellery, said Eramnaaz Shaikh, a resident of Camp.
"This year, my daughter Emaan and I will be donning Pakistani-style suits. We will also put mehendi on our hands and feet. All celebrations, however, depend on the sighting of the moon. We are making biryani, besides the kebabs and all the other dishes. The celebrations will continue till late in the night," she says.
The mood in the community within the city is upbeat this year, informs Haji Zakir Shaikh, president of All India Qaumi Tanzeem (Western Maharashtra).
"The weather is good, and that has slightly eased the strain of the day-long fasts. This year, many more children too have come forth to observe the roza. Many more community scale iftaris have been organized at mosques. Now, we are all eagerly waiting to celebrate," he says.
Eid-ul-Fitr, meaning 'festival of breaking the fast' is celebrated on the first date of Shawwal, which is the tenth month of the Hijra calendar.
It is observed by the Muslim community to celebrate the conclusion of the month of fasting, when every day, 'roza' is observed from the break of dawn till dusk during which an individual has to refrain from drinking, eating or having sexual intercourse, besides abstaining from all kinds of evil and unlawful practices.