City Faith – Spotting Muslim Women, Eid ul-Fitr, Turkman Gate
Daughters of the Eid.
[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi]
It was a sea of men.
One insufferably humid morning The Delhi Walla attended the prayer ceremony of Eid ul-Fitr at the Faiz Ilahi Masjid, a white-marble mosque tucked in one corner of the Ramlila Maidan. The crowd was so great that a large part of the congregation had to settle outside the mosque. The people spread out their prayer mats on the road itself; in front of the Mughal-era Turkman Gate; outside the building of the Delhi Stock Exchange. The traffic booth at the center of the square seemed like a lighthouse.
The street dogs looked puzzled. A barely-conscious beggar looked on with indifference.
I tried to look for women. But there were none. Then I spotted a little girl in a pink lehenga. She was sitting next to a grave-looking man; he was probably her father. Then I spotted another little girl. She was holding her little golden bag just the way the London walli Her Majesty holds her hand bag. And then I spotted yet another little girl and then another little girl.
After the prayers ended, all the little girls returned home with their respective fathers.
The women in Islam
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Great pics, great write. Who knows. One day we might see both men and women praying together. This might sound like wishful thinking, but it’s better to be optimistic.
Too Good! Very painstakingly done Photo-Feature. Also read your Feature on Metro in the Mint this morning. That too is A good piece.