Don?t let them make you a bakra!

THIS IS definitely where the ?scapegoat? or ?bakra? tag came from. The spree to pick the sacrificial ram for the Eid-ul-Azha festival from the bakarmandi, however, could see the uninitiated buyer being made a bakra by smart alecks selling the four-legged creatures.

THIS IS definitely where the ‘scapegoat’ or ‘bakra’ tag came from. The spree to pick the sacrificial ram for the Eid-ul-Azha festival from the bakarmandi, however, could see the uninitiated buyer being made a bakra by smart alecks selling the four-legged creatures.

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The street adjacent to the Neebu Bagh in the Old City turns every year into the venue for a lamb expo where the bid that begins at a minimum of Rs 2,000 could go up to Rs 25,000 for single or pairs.

“Niyat (intention), not price shelled out matters,” is the profound reminder from Naib Imam of Eidgah Maulana Khalid Rasheed. “It is not the flesh or blood of the animal sacrificed, but purity of one’s intent and faith that is accepted by Allah,” he says, continuing that Muslims must also take up on themselves to clean up the mess of the unused portions of the animal instead of dumping them and posing a health/hygiene hazard and creating a civic nuisance.

Khassi, Desi, Barbari, Jamnapari…the breeds vary with colour, size and type of the ram, while age, weight and looks decide the price. The seller may ask for Rs 12,000 for a pair or Rs 18,000 for a triplet begotten by the same mother.

Besides, there always are eye-catchers that take the asking price to vulgar heights just because they have ‘Allah’ or other sacred marks etched on the body—the tag could be a whopping Rs 1 lakh! “Such marks have no religious significance and these signs are always doctored as a business tactic,” says the maulana.

One criterion for choosing the right ram is that the number of teeth it has indicates how tender would its meat be— the more teeth the older the bakra is the thumb rule.

The animal sacrificed is divided into three equal portions—one for the poor, one for near and dear ones and the third for self. The ritual is blessed particularly when the animal has been reared by the family before it is sacrificed.

The animal should be showered with affection, unlike mandi animals. The ritual is for only those who pay zakat (alms) and those under debt are exempted.