Into the nocturnal world of Puran Dhaka in Ramadan
In Ramadan, people of Puran Dhaka seem to stay awake all night – busy shopping, working and eating – and sleep till noon
A narrow lane, lined with grocery shops, small shoe factories, hair salons, eateries, and residential buildings on either side, is teeming with life.
The lights from the shops are casting various shades of colour. The pitch of the road, still wet from rain a few hours ago, is glittering, resembling a deep dark river. The Buriganga, perhaps?
There's the aroma of Biriyani wafting out from one of the eateries, and so is the sound of Hindi songs of '90s from a nearby shop. Yet, the latter is frequently drowned out by the lively laughter and loud conversations of the people around.
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Battery-run rickshaws are making their way through the road every now and then, unnecessarily emitting probably the most horrid whistle ever. Still, hardly anyone in this vicinity seems to care. Everyone is enjoying themselves, as if Eid has arrived early.
Suddenly, it starts drizzling again. And people start running sporadically, as if they were on a railway platform, and the train had just arrived. Most of them are hurriedly looking for a roof over their head, but there are also a few romantic fools who are more than pleased to get drenched.
This is precisely how we found the Aga Sadek Road of Puran Dhaka during a recent visit at 2 am.
Strange indeed, yet very much real.
"Because it's the holy month of Ramadan, and Puran Dhaka doesn't sleep at night in this month," explained one salon owner Munna.
He, however, became rather disappointed after posing for our camera, once he realised that we were not YouTubers. The word 'journalists' didn't really appeal to him much. On top of that, instead of recording videos, we were only taking photos.
But of course, that didn't stop him from continuing a friendly chatter with us.
"Is it because the Eid is closing nearer that most shops in this area remain open throughout the night?" we asked him.
But he was confident that wasn't the case. According to him, they would indeed operate 24/7 in the last week leading up to Eid day, but 18 Ramadan was still too early for that.
"In Ramadan, people of Puran Dhaka stay awake all night, and sleep till 12-to-1 in the noon. That's mainly the reason we keep our salon open at least until the Sehri time," Munna told us, before inviting us to have our hair cut from his salon before Eid, and requesting to at least share his photo on Facebook.
Bidding him goodbye with a firm handshake, we went on to converse with more people in the surrounding shops and factories. Abdul Hamid, of a small shoemaking shop, explained to us how it has become their custom to work throughout the night during Ramadan.
"Daytime in Ramadan feels dull. Also while fasting, many workers don't feel like working. So, from Esha prayer to Sehri time is the best period for indulging in work," Hamid said.
Jamil Mia from another leather shop also echoed the same sentiment. "Come early morning in this area, you will not see a single human being. Morning is the complete opposite of the night in Puran Dhaka."
And this is not limited to this one road only, but is more or less the same scenario in all of the old part of the city.
As we strolled from one narrow lane of Puran Dhaka to another, whether it was from Bangshal Road to Sat Rawza or from Chawk Bazar Road to Lalbagh Posta, we observed similar scenes unfolding all over the place.
Clothing factories and tailoring shops seemed to be running in full swing, even though their deadline pressures had not yet approached. Nevertheless, one common thread remained evident in every place — the palpable enthusiasm of the workers, a trait often lacking in the people of Dhaka as a whole.
"It's the atmosphere of the Ramadan nights that amplifies our drive manifold," said Mohammad Zulfiqar, employee of a tailoring shop adjacent to Aga Nawab Dewry Jame Masjid.
"It's this one month of the year that we keep looking forward to. Not only does the business pick up during this month, but so does our mood," Zulfiqar told us, adding that the nights of Puran Dhaka possess such a charm that it energises them even amidst their hectic schedules.
As the night progressed, we witnessed firsthand how people flocked to the numerous eateries and restaurants of Puran Dhaka to have Sehri.
"Most people who come to eat Sehri are either locals or workers from the nearby clothing and shoe factories and tailoring shops," Masud Rana, employee of a Biriyani House in Nazimuddin Road told us.
But of course, the scenario is much different in Nazirabazar, the food capital of Puran Dhaka. It remains bustling throughout the night not only in Ramadan, but all year around. Still, the footfalls in Ramadan are certainly much higher than other times, claimed several restaurant managers and employees.
People from all corners of the city come to taste various kinds of Biriyani, Tehari, Kabab, along with Sharbat, Shahi Pan, Shahi Cha etc in this food hub.
Particularly, the Biriyani of Hanif and Hajir Biriyani, and the kababs of Bismillah Kabab are the most popular here.
The long queue leading to Hanif Biriyani at 3am would take anyone unfamiliar with Puran Dhaka by surprise. Its limited seating arrangement remains packed all the time, with at least three times as many people waiting both inside and outside for their turn, while more continue to arrive with each passing minute.
But frankly speaking, is the food in this area really as good as it is hyped up to be? At least we didn't think so. Despite the high praise and undoubtedly inflated prices of the food items sold here, we found them to be underwhelming and not quite meeting our expectations.
While the eateries significantly compromise on hygiene standards, meats like beef and mutton also turn out to be not properly cooked, and the rice served can also be as dry as possible.
"True, that we didn't enjoy the food very much. But the overall experience, as well as the extraordinary atmosphere of Puran Dhaka, makes the visit worthwhile," said Naimul Islam, in a tone that suggested he was trying to console himself. He travelled all the way from Gulshan to taste Nazirabazar food in the dead of night.
But the restaurant managers and employees are perhaps some of the greatest philosophers you'll ever encounter in your life.
"It all depends on your rizq (Arabic word for provision by God). You will only get what's been decreed for you," said the cashier of a Hajir Biriyani branch, after we complained about the quality of food. He also handed us a torn Tk200 note as change, which we humbly returned for a replacement, stating that at least this torn note was not in our rizq.
There was a time when the singing of Qasida, mostly in Urdu, would commence from midnight in Puran Dhaka, in a bid to awaken the people for Sehri. There would also be month-long mohalla- and group-based competitions of Qasida singing, as documented in researcher Shaila Parvin's book "Dhakar Hariye Jawa Qasida" (The lost Qasida of Dhaka). Those days now appear long gone.
It's not, however, a ritual that originated from the Mughal period, as some claim. It began during the period of the British East India Company, according to historian Hashem Sufi.
Songs like "Allahke bandeko hum aaye jagane ko" (We have come to wake up the devotees of Allah) or "O rojdaro jago otho, ye raat sohani hai" (O fasting people, please wake up, this night is so charming) can no longer be heard in the lanes of Puran Dhaka. It seems like the tradition has truly been lost.
Throughout the night, we roamed the entire region, but we didn't come across a single Qasida group.
We had heard about a renowned Qasida singer named Bhuttu Mia from the Koltabazar area, who has been performing for the past 40 years. However, when we visited the area around 3:30 am, we were unable to locate him either.
Meanwhile, we also visited places like Sowari Ghat to observe its nightlife. While nights here remain busy throughout the year with the arrival of fish from various parts of the country, this time there was an additional sense of enthusiasm among the nocturnal crowd as they were enjoying their Sehri in a celebratory atmosphere.
However, this also resulted in significant traffic congestion on the Sadarghat-Babubazar Bridge, as truck drivers haphazardly halted their vehicles to finish their Sehri. When we attempted to take pictures of the long queue of trucks, one truck driver eagerly exclaimed, "Don't just take photos, please do something about the jam!"
Who knows, maybe he mistook the camera in our hand for a magic wand. But considering that the trucks couldn't move even an inch in half an hour, one might certainly wonder if even Harry Potter could solve the traffic situation on this road.
But amidst the chaos, we discovered the Babubazar Bridge, which "starred" in the Netflix film 'Extraction,' alongside Chris Hemsworth, presenting a truly enchanting sight with a silver moon in its backdrop.
The Babubazar Ghat was also full with half a dozen boats ready to ferry passengers to the other side of the Buriganga. Evidently, they remain on standby all night long in case passengers with heavy loads want to cross the river.
Surprisingly, the launch terminals of Sadarghat were nearly deserted, with only a few street people roaming along the jetty.
This was a stark contrast to what many people were accustomed to, as just two years ago, the launch terminals used to be jam-packed with people travelling to or coming from Barishal and other southern regions at this time of night, even in regular months.
"Since the opening of the Padma Bridge, Sadarghat has lost its nightlife," commented a hawker named Selim, who sells different kinds of packaged nuts in the Sadarghat area.
Even though he can hardly sell anything during night-time these days, he has still clung onto his profession.
