The centuries old tradition of waking people up for ‘Sehri’ through drum beating in the holy month of Ramadan is vanishing, as the faithful have started relying on alarm clocks and electronic devices.
Ammar Khan, a resident of Sector I-10 said that most of the people used to get up for sehri due to the beating of the drums but with the arrival of modern technology the trend has somewhat declined.
Shoaib Ahsan, a resident of Bara Kahu said, “Due to revolution in technology the custom has vanished from urban areas.” However, the tradition is still alive in some rural areas, he added.
Iqbal Shah, a 62 year old drum-beater, who beats the drum during Ramadan at Chandni Chowk said that this was a centuries old custom. “For a long time the people of the sub-continent (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) have relied on the sound of drum to wake up for sehri as there were no loudspeakers or alarm clocks during that time,” he remarked.
He said, “I have never demanded any money from people for this job and have been doing it for the last three decades to earn a reward from my Lord.
However, people give me money out of free will at the end of the month, he added.