eid mubarak

eid Mubarak to all of you , its been amazing ramzan this year , had many great  foods and  experienced deep spirituality , i deeply feel that ramzan is the month were you see the inner self of yours , the fasting makes you so pure that you get connected to the places in you which you thought never existed , even though your body is without fuel for fourteen to fifteen hours at stretch , you  don't feel a bit of hunger and thirst , thats   the beauty of this  month ,  your soul takes over your worldly needs and what remains is only your conscience , which if deeply connected to the higher being serves as food , both for body and soul .This is what the sufis and darveshis use to practice , and they mastered it to perfection .  and because they mastered it they became close to almighty , and in return they got privileges and gifts to help people and guide them to the right path , no doubt that even after centuries of their heavenly abode they still serve the people with their powers and healing , and no doubt people flock to these saints with their problems , hoping from them to be sorted . Nevertheless we all have our own self inhibitions which we  have to over come , and for  time being have  to control our whereabouts , because this month gives us a chance to make a difference to our lives , to shed all excess baggages  we carry and run swiftly towards our goal ,but what is that goal , that ultimate goal is that all human beings are to attain is salvation , we are nothing but creatures of materialism , power , lust and greed ,  its the human nature that we get attracted to all these easily , but until we realize that , its not going to last for eternity , and someday we have to leave all this and surrender to the natures forces , and leave this world ,ultimately we have a permanent bad on the ground were mud serves as our blanket . since the time immemorial we have been told a story that , there was always peace and tranquility on this earth  until god made ADAM , the angels questioned god that why is he making a human who only spreads destructions , hatred , greed , lust and chaos , god replied that , there are humans who might do this but among them are also who would be the opposite of what you have just said . this shows that god made human for a purpose , but the purpose is hidden from us , each and every human sent on this earth has a purpose , its only that he has to realize it with full acknowledgment ,  If  he realizes it then no one  in this existence can come to stop him , he will know the true meaning of his life , and also send positive vibes in others , persuading them to know the true meaning of their life . Here i don't want to sound preachy , i am not a master of doctrines or a philosopher , i am just a writer who writes what he thinks is worth , and hopes that who reads it , also agrees .


now coming back to eid  , i got a very interesting thing to share ,  a poem specially for EID  , hope you guys  like it .



                 EVERYONE DANCED TOGETHER
                 FOR THE LITTLE EID MOON
                 DANCED AROUND THE CIRCLE
                 MEN ON STREETS AND LADIES IN THE ROOM
                 PEOPLE HUGGING EACH OTHER
                 GREETINGS GIVEN TO ONE ANOTHER
                 BIRYANI THIS EVENING / KOFTA AT NOON
                 SHEER KHORMA AND DATES FOLLOW VERY SOON
                 ALL FASTED FOR THE WHOLE MONTH LONG
                 NOW ITS OVER , LETS SING A SONG
                 THE THREAD OF SILVER , NIGHTS OF PRECIOUS BOON
                 RISING WITH US THE LITTLE EID MOON .
               

this poem was written by khushwant sing , a beautiful writer and one of my favorites ,  i made a few alterations to make the poem sound rhyming  , rest is the same as MR sing , i really liked the piece and wanted others to read .

                                           AGAIN , EID MUBARAK TO ALL OF YOU .

haleem

                                                                  Haleem

A man sitting on a square like mud enclave with a big wooden spoon constantly smashing something inside, a medium sized whole in between that enclave to put coal and heat it, another man cutting big stashes of garnishing’s, waves of smoke and fumes filling the air with spicy and tasty smell.  The people walking by , turning to see, and anticipating when it will be ready.

haleem being served  from the pot 

Yeah you have guessed it right, I am talking about the staple dish of hyderabadis, the haleem , most frequently cooked in The Month of Ramzan . The preparation of this dish starts from 12 noon and ends around 5 pm. Requires a lot of ingredients, cooking, heating and mixing. The main ingredients are mutton, chicken or beef heated and grinded in a concentrated form, oil and other spices added, and after through mixing, grinding, heating and cooking it left to cool down, after an hour, fresh haleem ready to serve. It is simple and very nutritious, adds a lot of proteins to your body and also an act of our prophet (PBUH).  As we know haleem is served in almost every big hotel in Hyderabad at different prices, and different tastes, I have made a list of hotels were I liked the dish, so that you can choose from a variety of restaurants and hope you will like them as well.

Shadab :  this hotel situated at medina makes some of most smooth haleems , as you eat it remains in your mouth for a few seconds and disappears immediately , and comes up only in the next take , its touchy and concentrated . And fine balanced of meat and spice.

Bawarchi :  this restaurant is just a few blocks  from my home , it’s been there for years , but I never took notice of its haleem . one day  I had to give a sudden treat to my friends , and bawarchi was their choice , realizing that I never really tried my neighborhood hotel I agreed and was shocked that its haleem was one of a kind , a real class . We all binged on it like crazy. 

Sohail:  it’s located near bb cancer hospital, opposite to  the fly over, though its haleem tastes good and soft, it’s quite expensive and the quantity you get is very little, and for getting the haleem you have to wait for a long time.

Bahar :  this was a  new discovery I made , Bahar is very old restaurant but I never happened to have its haleem anytime , so this time as I was passing through it , I  and my friend decided to try , and I must tell you it was worth it . Good taste, good flavor and not so costly. NO wonder why people flock there .

cafe bahar at Basheer bagh

                                    

SHAAM :  it’s another restaurant located near my house , very veteran in all dishes and one of the oldest , I have been having cuisines  from this hotel since the time  immemorial  ,  and from then till now the standard and quality has never derailed , I can trust this restaurant for its service and food , nothing has changed from it , except for the price , which increases from time to time .

These were the outlets  I found  to be most  exotic and tasty  ,  like all ramzans this ramzan  also left its mark , I believe every ramzan we get makes us realize that how lucky we are , that once again we got this sacred month and once again we get a chance to  forgive and forget our hardness and become friends  , sharing , forgiveness , loving and helping is the crux of this month , I hope that people will carry  this spirit after ramzan as well .

On a parting note I would like to tell you that once I asked my father , weather haleem was so common in his early years as it is now , he replied that haleem was not at all common , only a few restaurants could afford haleem as haleem rawa was  not accessible to everyone ,    he said  in those days haleem would come in RS 5 or 7 a plate , “ quite affordable “ .