CHENNAI: It was one thing for Muslims around the city to start their day early to end their fasts on Eid on Wednesday, but it was something else for a group of Hindus (mostly Brahmins) to gather at a mosque at 7.30am on the day that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting. A group of volunteers from the Ashok Nagar unit of NGO, Satya Sai, got together at the Ashok Pillar Mosque early Wednesday morning to hand out rasna and juices to Muslims who finish their morning prayers. This tradition, which has been going on for 16 years now, takes place at both the men and women sections of the mosque. “This is a very satisfying service for us, we don’t believe in the caste system in our organisation,” said one of the volunteers. On the other end of the mosque, men with namams smeared on their forehead and taqiyahs (skullcaps) covering their head, put up a banner at the gate wishing the Muslims 'Eid Mubarak'. These volunteers, who live in and around the Ashok Nagar area, also take responsibility to ensure that no juice cups are strewn around the mosque area. “There has been no opposition from any side of ours for doing this kind of service,” said another volunteer. “We, sometimes, even join the Muslims in their iftar,” he added. Fathima Arif, a Muslim woman who came to offer her prayers at the mosque, said, “Watching them serve us year after year makes us Muslims to help them out in their places of worship.”
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