Ramazan drummers lose purpose in megacity

For many, the tradition is now merely a means of striking the nostalgic vein


Aamir Khan April 10, 2022

KARACHI:

The city’s veteran residents recall a time when the sound of beating drums would echo in almost every neighbourhood of the city at the wee hours of dawn during Ramazan. Men lugging percussion instruments, sometimes fashioned out of anything capable of clattering, would go from street to street chanting and chiming; cooeeing at those deep in slumber to wake up for the first meal. Oftentimes, they would recite hyms, naats, or qawaalis that people would look forward to gracing their ears every day of the holy month and reminisce for the rest of the year.

However, over time, as mobile phones and alarm clocks became more common and neighbourhoods turned into housing societies, propping up gates and fences, the city’s infamous Ramazan drummers lost their purposes and access. Their chimes, slowly fading from the mainstream became restricted to a few neighbourhoods where their methods could still find a reason.

However, during the two years of the pandemic, even those few neighbourhoods that held nostalgia dear seemed to have forgotten the familiar sound that echoed their streets, urging them to wake up for sehri. “So evidently, most people who were still associated with this centuries-old tradition had to find elsewhere for more viable jobs during Covid-19. Although we do not have pandemic-related restrictions in place anymore, the number of people involved in the practice is considerably reduced by an estimated 30 per cent,” estimated Fayyaz Younis, a resident of Punjab Colony.

From talking to people still associated with the tradition in his area, Younis learned that it is no longer seen as a profession or a primary source of seasonal income. Those who still practice, per Younis, do it for the sake of keeping the fading tradition of their ancestors alive. “It seems this will probably be the last generation of Ramazan drummers. The few people who still go around beating drums or blowing trumpets to wake up neighbourhoods do it in the memory of their elders, but they say that their children seem the least interested in continuing the tradition,” he opined.

Adding truth to Younis’ claims, Hanif Bhai, who has been a Ramazan drummer for as long as he can remember, says that striking the nostalgic vein is the only purpose this tradition appears to serve anymore. “Most of us have switched to drumming outside weddings and parties to maintain our primary income. It pays more and is an activity that remains relevant all year round. Those who still go around waking people up for sehri, no longer chant hymns or recite qawaali as our ancestors would. The methods are more modern now, they involve megaphone announcements and sometimes percussion instruments,” he told.

According to Hanif Bhai, the practice has become a means of generating some extra income during the last 10 days of Ramazan, when people are more generous and rather keen to give out gifts and charity to the poor. “This helps us prepare for Eidul Fitr,” he told The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 10th, 2022.

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