After the fasting, it's feasting time

The Murtaza Khans are connected to Aga Khan and observe Ramzan and Eid-ul-Fitr in true Islamic and family tradition

The Islamic holy month of Ramzan, when the devout fast from dawn to dusk, is a month of mercy and giving, a time to stop and contemplate, and look both inwards and outwards.

The Murtaza Khan family, which is connected to the Aga Khan family, follows this in true tradition.

This family also observes Eid-ul-Fitr in its authentic flavour, like many other Muslim families of the old nobility in the city.


Laleh Busheri, her husband and her uncle and aunt on an Eid day from the past;u00a0Laleh's family her grandparents,
mother and brotheru00a0with the earlier Aga Khan at the Aga Khan Palace in Yerwada; the current Aga Khan with Laleh's uncle and auntu00a0u00a0

"It's a time to cleanse ourselves not only spiritually but physically as well, and it is obligatory in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, when fasting begins at dawn and ends at sunset," says Laleh Busheri, a member of the family.

"Special night prayers called Taraweeh are held. The entire Quran is recited in these prayers in mosques all around the world."

Laleh says that though members of her family are scattered all over the world, after the sighting of the moon, the phone starts ringing non-stop.

A special charity called Zakatul-Fitr is given prior to the prayers. The rest of the day is spent in visiting friends and relatives and giving gifts to children.
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This spirit of Eid, Laleh Busheri says, is what her family has been following for generations.u00a0

"Youngsters wish elders and elders in turn give gifts called Eiddie or cash, to spend it the way they want!" says she.

She buys gifts for close friends too like one does during Christmas or Diwali.

"My roots in Pune go back almost a century, when my grandfather came with his family, the first Aga Khan Hasan Ali Shah, who was his mother's brother, since they had to flee Persia because of political intrigue," says she.

They settled in Mumbai initially, having family homes there, with summer homes in Pune and Panchgani.

"Through my grandfather I trace my family tree back to Prophet Mohammed, thus making me a direct descendant of the Prophet," says she.

"My family tree gets traced back to the Prophet's family since we are Sayyeds, direct descendants of the Prophet.
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I also trace my roots from the first Aga Khan and my maternal grandmother was the great-granddaughter of Fateh Ali Shah of the Qajar dynasty, the king of Persia.

The present Aga Khan's great grandmother was Lady Ali Shah, who was also my maternal grandmother's aunt."

When her grandfather came to India and settled in Mumbai and the city, her family owned many landmarks.

Her mother owned property in the city on BJ Road which today is partly Woodlands Hotel, Godrej building and Agricultural College -- and a common private lane went between the family properties till the Pune station, one side owned by the Aga Khan called the Aga Khan compound.

Now, after a month of fasting, it is feasting time. There's a spread of Persian food -- kabab platter, Iranian pulao, berry pulao -- and Indian food -- biryani, sheer korma and sherbet and falooda.

"In my grandparents' home they used to make kuzi, which is a typical West Asian lamb stuffed with eggs, chicken, dry fruits and cooked in a tandoor on slow fire, for eight to 10 hours," says Laleh.

"On Eid at my mother's house it was 'open house'. People came to wish and pay their respects to my grandparents throughout the day.

Those who came in the morning stayed on for lunch and those who came in the evening stayed on for dinner."
The tradition is still followed by her family.

"Today at home I have a open house too. Friends all drop in to wish and stay on," says Laleh. "Eid ul Fitr is actually Eid for those who have spent the month in fasting and prayers."