Iftar at Pandit wedding

By Shujaat Bukhari

JAMMU, DEC. 14. It is a normal practice among Muslims to attend weddings in Pandit families. But the one which was solemnised here recently was a different one. Those who came all the way from the Kashmir Valley participated in it amidst the Ramzan fast.

During the Ramzan month, marriages do not take place in Kashmir as Muslims observe fast. Pandits too, avoided fixing marriages during this time. However, a majority of them have migrated to Jammu, where it is now a marriage season.

But for the marriage in Mr. Prithvi Nath Koul's family in Anantnag, the number of Muslim guests was surprisingly more. All the guests had their sehri and iftar for which special arrangements were made. All of them received the barat and were very much part of the celebrations. At the time of iftar, special dishes of wazwan were served in typical Kashmiri style. ``It is a great time for us to meet our neighbours,'' said Abdur Rasheed Dar, a contractor from Dalseer.

The guests considered the wedding a pleasant reunion with their old acquaintances. ``We met a number of our old neighbours and friends who have a cherished desire to go back to their culture,'' said Mushtaq Ahmed Ganai of Hatmura.

Thousands of Pandit families are living in Jammu and other parts of country following the mass exodus in 1990. Though many of these families are leading a comfortable life, thanks to the bright career prospects of their children, there are thousands who are living a pathetic life in one-room tenements in Jammu and Udhampur. The Government chalked out a plan for their phased return to Kashmir but that is yet to be implemented for want of funds, and above all, because the security situation.

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