Apparently, (un)culture is also a(un in French) is also a culture. For Mahesh Bhatt, Ramjan is a tradition inherited from his mother's side. Has he ever learned it's physiological effects, or why the Bedouins preferred to fast during the day, than during the night?
On Sun, Jul 22, 2012 at 2:47 AM, Farida Majid <farida_majid@hotmail.com> wrote:
The last line:Isn't this at the end of it all what culture is all about?
Date: Sat, 21 Jul 2012 20:47:04 +0100
Subject: MAHESH BHATT'S ARTICLE ABOUT RAMAZAN
Mahesh Bhatt's article about RamzanCollective force By MAHESH BHATTThe Famous Film maker and Human Rights activist MAHESH BHATTobserves daily fast (roza) during Ramdan ? Why?On the 14th day of Ramdan, as I drove back home to break mydaily fast (Roza), a beep on my cell phone alerted me to an incomingmessage. This is what the message said: Hello, Mr. Bhatt, I understandthrough your utterances and writings that you are not a religious man and youdo not believe in the efficacy of prayer. But I have now learned thatyou maintain Roza in the month of Ramdan. Your actions, Mr. Bhatt,bewilder the Hindus and shock the Muslims as well. May I ask why you keepRoza? This question from a stranger made me smile but since the querywas an innocent one I instinctively punched in my response, which was,Islam is a part of my heritage. I was born to a Brahmin Hindu fatherand a Shia Dawoodi Bohra Muslim mother. When I was a child my motherwould ensure that I fasted for at least one day in the month ofRamadan. I remember her telling me that during the month of Ramadan theMuslims say that the gates of heaven are open. This is the month whenMuhammad received his first revelation. After my mother died six yearsago I realized that the only way to keep her alive within me was tofast for every single day in the month of Ramadan.?That evening when the distant Azaan was heard and the clockannounced that the day's fast had come to an end, my parched body welcomedthe first sip of water that I had taken in 14 hours like a desertwould welcome rain. As I bit into an overripe date I discovered thatat this particular moment I was a part of this collective release whichbound me together with millions of people in my country and all over theworld with such unnatural force that I experienced a sense ofexhilaration like I had never experienced before. And it was then that forthe first time I realized what the spirit of Ramadan is really all about.When so many people together wholeheartedly share a common purpose, theyare united in a way that one has to experience to truly comprehend.And the exhilaration comes from the fact that it's not about theindividual alone but about all of us, together, doing something socompletely. And it is perhaps this feeling of brotherhood that makes fastingin Ramadan such a unique and joyous experience.In this buy, consume and junk age where one's consciousness isbeing bombarded by all kinds of pleasure peddlers who market theirmouth-watering food and drink on the hour by the hour, it issuch a relief to shut the door to them and their wares and protect yourbody from an overdoes of pleasure. In the month of Ramadan one takesa break from the hedonistic way of life. One gets off the treadmill of constantpleasure seeking and lives a life of austerity and simplicity. This rejuvenates thephysical organism and fills one with unusual vigour. As days turn intoweeks you being to realize that the human organism spends too much energyin trying to process excess food intake. The maxim that man iskilled by too much food begins to make sense.In the first few days of Ramadan, when the pangs of hunger gnawat your insides leaving you to constantly stare at the clock, yousuddenly feel as if there is an invisible umbilical cord connecting you to thesea of otherwise faceless people all over the world that often go fordays without a square meal. Your apathy and indifference slowly beginto fade away and your heart begins to wake up to the all-pervasivesuffering of your fellow human beingsAnother thing that makes this Ramadan even more special for meis that my 13 year old daughter Alia has for some strange and unknownreason spontaneously decided to fast along with me. Like you fast foryour mother, I fast for you, she said simply after I asked her whatprompted this unexpected decision. No wonder a wise man once said, "Whatyou teach you children, you also teach your grand-children." Iwonder whether years ago while my mother was shaking me awake in thehush of the morning light and whispering, "Beta, time for Sehri", sheknew she was also awakening her future grand-children. Isn't this at theend of it all what culture is all about?
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