This Muslim family has been performing Chhath Puja for last 12 years

NOIDA: A Muslim family in Noida has been carrying on the tradition of Chatth Puja for the last 12 years. Forty-eight-year-old Raja Khan, alias Ali, said he and his

NOIDA: A Muslim family in Noida has been carrying on the tradition of Chatth Puja for the last 12 years. Forty-eight-year-old Raja Khan, alias Ali, said he and his family have never missed performing the puja at Sector 71 in Noida.

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The tailor family, which migrated to Biroundi village in Greater Noida from Siwan in Bihar in the early 90s, believes that observing Chhath is as important as celebrating Eid and Bakrid.

Ali has a strong reason to celebrate the Hindu festival.

“Chhath is a conventional festival for my family since many generations. When I was a child, my grandmother Habiban used to tell me Chhath stories that how she started observing the fast and offering ‘arghya’ to the rising and setting sun after the death of my great grandmother,” he said.

Ali said after his grandmother’s death, his mother Madina began performing the Chhath Puja in 1992.

“In 1994, I came to Birondi with my family to eke out a living. Till 2006, we used to visit our native village, Khanjarpur in Siwan district, but after my mother’s death in 2007, we decided to perform the puja here in Sector 71. The Hindu fraternity of this area has been very co-operative with us since 2007, my sister-in-law Serul performs the Chhath here,” Ali said.

Forty-nine-year-old Serul, who works as a domestic help, has three sons, Zafar (30), Mahboob (27) and Izhar (25).

“All of them work in construction companies. We are devout Muslims and don’t miss a single namaaz. But, non-vegetarian items become a strict ‘no-no’ in our kitchen after Diwali till Chhath so as to maintain the sanctity of the festival,” she said.

Serul’s younger son Izhar said none of his family members believe in fundamentalist ideas.

“We have never been sent to a madrassa by our elders, but we offer namaaz five times a day. There is nothing wrong in a Muslim performing Chhath Puja. We believe God is one. It’s just that we humans know him by different names. In our native village, dozens of Muslim families perform Chhath Puja since ages,” he said.

Ali, however, said he has faced the wrath of Muslim clergy several times for observing this Hindu festival.

“Our family has been threatened several times to give up this tradition and bene told that it is against our faith. But for us, it is like observing roza (fasting) in Ramzan. When our family goes to offer a chaddar (blanket) at the Ajmer dargah, we also visit Brahma’s temple in Pushkar. Also, we regularly visit Kalibari in Noida,” he said.

Ali’s family also thanked the organisers of Chhath Puja in Sector 71. “They have always been very helpful. Chhath is a festival that spreads the message of brotherhood, harmony and environmental conservation,” he said.

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