Echoes of the past: Beating drums, wailing sirens fall silent

These instruments, once used for war, later alerted those fasting of sehri, iftar

PESHAWAR: In the 1970s, their wailing of the siren would signal the ominous. War was upon the country and two sirens, one at the old Civil Defence Building and the other in Gor Ghatri tehsil, would alert locals of a potential enemy attack. Later, the very same sound would inform those fasting of the onset of their fast at sehri and its eagerly-anticipated end at iftar.

However, gone are those days and the hooting of these instruments, which would fill the dawn and dusk air. The sound of the sirens has now fallen silent.

The sirens were installed at Civil Defence Building in the 70s when Pakistan was at war with India. Ultimately, the confrontation led to the creation of Bangladesh and East Pakistan no longer existed.

Remembering the 70s, Gor Ghatri tehsil resident Zahid Hussain says people used to rush back home and turn off the lights the moment the sirens rang. Plunging their surroundings into darkness was a natural reaction to this warning so that attacking forces were offered as little light as possible.

Taking a long breath, the thin man, now sporting a grey beard, remembers when the sirens were later used for a far more peaceful purposes. “That was a time for rest and fun,” he recalls when talking about the sounding of the sirens for sehri and iftar.

Nowadays, modern technology has silenced these instruments. Mobile phones and various devices with alarm systems have taken their place.

However, in the old days, more sirens were installed mostly on the top floors of the city’s flour mills to keep the ever-increasing population abreast with Ramazan timings.

Sixty-year-old Mir Zaman told The Express Tribune that the siren system used during Sehri and Iftar was later replaced by the dhol.

“A man, with a drum strapped around his shoulder, used to roam the streets at Sehri time and wake up people,” Zaman smiles. He adds this is still practiced in some parts of the city such as Saddar Bazaar.

The drummers used to charge fees for offering their services and collect from each households. In the 90s, Zaman says every family was giving between Rs200 and 400 for the whole month of Ramazan.

“The money was given to them on the eve of Eidul Fitr,” Zaman says

He adds singing religious couplets were also used to wake people up for Sehri during Ramazan.

Historians suggest that the use of the drum to wake people up dates back to the Ottoman Empire. It was later practiced in countries like Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Egypt, Turkey and United Arab Emirates.

Sher Alam Shinwari, an authority on cultural practices in K-P, believes every society should use modern-day advances, but still hang on to the traditions of yore.

Commenting over the siren and the use of the drum, he says these were public services by the British for people of this region.

“This tradition (use of siren and dhol) was practiced mostly in Androon Shehr and Cantt areas.”

He believes traditional practices and their instruments should always be preserved by any society. When asked if today’s people want to become accustomed again with old traditions, he says, “Society is nostalgic. The new generation has been told by elders that days gone by were better than modern times.”

Shinwari adds young people are now interested in practicing traditions as a result. However, a permanent shift to old practices is an unrealistic expectation as modern conveniences are far more convenient.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 23^rd, 2016.