It is 6.20 p.m. on a humid evening in Mumbai, and a crowd of hurried commuters at Andheri station on the Western Railway line is desperate to board packed local trains to the Indian metropolis's outer suburbs. Listen in English or Arabic Beta V.1.0 powered by automated translation
Ahmed Najeeb, a 54-year-old government schoolteacher, deftly boards the D1 coach with a large group of friends as the Mumbai-Surat Flying Rani train approaches the station.
The men announce to one another, "Najeeb bhai [brother] is here," and they quickly count the number of people in their group of 20 "train friends," a term used by Mumbai commuters who travel long distances together.
The group is made up of Hindu and Muslim people who live 120 kilometers away in the district of Palghar and commute to work by bus every day.
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During the long stretch of Ramadan, the Hindu individuals from the gathering stand at the entry of the carriage, guiding approaching suburbanites to move inside the mentor so there is space close to the footboard for Najeeb and their six other Muslim companions to implore and break their day to day quick once the sun goes down.
“This simple gesture by our Hindu brothers gives us happiness as squeezing into Mumbai’s crowded trains and getting a place to stand itself is a harrowing experience,” Mr. Najeeb tells The National minutes before the time for iftar, the meal that Muslims eat to end their fast.
Mumbai's immense rural train network is famously stuffed, shipping in excess of 6 million travelers everyday.
Soon, he and others begin praying on the moving train in a tight circle around small plates of fruits and food spread on a newspaper.
Hasim Sheikh, a commuter, says, "Most Muslims gather in their homes with family or mosques for iftar. This train is like our second home." However, Mr. Najeeb states, "We break the fast on the train because the iftar time arrives in the middle of our hour-and-a-half commute."
A normal suburbanite on the Palghar-Andheri course for the beyond 25 years, this is the third Ramadan in succession that Najeeb and different Muslims in the gathering are stamping on the Flying Rani train.
Hasim Sheikh, a commuter who works as a human resources manager, claims that "our train friends are like a family" and that "this train is like our second home." We are able to end the fast peacefully because of their support.
If they are fasting, even Muslim vendors selling goods on the train are invited to participate.
The iftar transforms into a social gathering where passengers share dates and snacks following the prayers. The Hindu members of the group bring sweets and other treats to celebrate Ramadan's spirit of brotherhood, compassion, and generosity.
In the train, Ahmed Najeeb provides food for iftar to fellow passengers. Mahendra Parikh for The National presents Ahmed Najeeb with iftar food for fellow train passengers. Mahendra Parikh for The National: "We take turns every day to organize some food or beverage for iftar," Mr. Najeeb's close friend and jewelry merchant Hitesh Rajendra Patel says.
The Hindu friends brought cold packets of piyush, a sweet, creamy version of lassi, a yoghurt-based drink, to quench everyone's thirst after a round of filling snacks on a particularly hot day during Ramadan this year.
Nikhil Mhatre, a Hindu member of the group, jokes, "just like Secret Santa," that the identities of those making such contributions to the iftar are kept secret. What makes a difference to us is that we can all share and be essential for this festival," he says.
There is more to the Hindu-Muslim brotherhood than just iftar and Eid.
When they fast for nine days during the Hindu festival of Navratri, Mr. Najeeb and the other Muslims in the group show their gratitude by presenting Mr. Patel and their Hindu friends with fruits. During the Ganpati festival, when the Hindu members of the group install a massive 5-meter idol in their neighborhood, the Muslim train friends lend a hand, assisting with the idol's ornamentation and transportation by road.
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The iftar on a moving train may be surprising setting, however such scenes of between confidence festivity during Ramadan are normal the nation over.
In spite of this, they are becoming less common in the heated atmosphere that has resulted from the rise of Hindu nationalism.
There has been a rise in anti-Muslim violence since Ramadan began.
An imam was beaten by unknown men in the Jalna district of Maharashtra, which is governed by the BJP, for refusing to chant "Jai Shri Ram," which has become a war cry for militant Hindu supremacists. Members of the right-wing Bajrang Dal threatened a Muslim family in Moradabad for organizing prayers with friends inside their house. Members of housing societies in Noida, near New Delhi, stopped Muslim residents from offering namaz in public areas. In Uttar Pradesh state, which is governed by a brazenly anti-Muslim Hindu monk-turned-politician,
However, on Flying Rani's D1 coach, such hostility from the outside is not welcome.
Aditya Mallah, a human
resources manager in his 30s who asserts that he has no doubts that he and the other members of the group would defend their Muslim friends in the event of trouble, states, "It has no impact on our friendship."
He asserts, "There are individuals who want to create trouble, but that is not our upbringing; we respect everyone."
Mr. Mhatre adds, summarizing the group's perspective, "We don't discriminate or believe in differences due to religion." This iftar is a small part of humanity's greatest religion, in our eyes.
"May Allah keep this fondness between our companions everlastingly," Mr Najeeb rings in.
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