My first Ifthar party

I owe a big thanks to Padmashree Prof. Hakim Syed Khaleefathullah Sahib. The eminent doctor received the Padma award in April 2014 for his contributions in the field of Unani medicine. But he deserves another award, perhaps the higher Padma Bhushan, for his attempts to foster inter-faith friendship.

On July 28, 2014, at the close of the holy month of Ramadan, Prof Khaleefathullah (pictured here) did something remarkable. He organised a vegetarian Ifthar party. And he invited many non-Muslims, including Yours Truly.

The food was simple enough – poori, vegetable biryani, gulab jamoon, kheer, papad and curd. The party was held in Madrasa-i-Azam, which incidentally runs a ‘home for poor boys’, on Mount Road, Chennai.

Three days before the event Prof Khaleefathullah called P S Surana, Founder Partner of Surana & Surana, one of the more prominent law firms in the country. Prof Khaleefathullah wanted him to be the Chief Guest at the Ifthar party.

Now, P S Surana is a Jain. The Jains fuss about what they eat very much. They, for instance, do not eat onion, garlic, potato. As for non-vegetarian food, well they don’t eat anything cooked in a vessel in which meat was ever cooked.

But Prof Khaleefathullah did not give Mr Surana a chance to refuse. “The Ifthar party will be a vegetarian one,” he said. What more, Surana could bring his own cook, cooking vessels……

When I was introduced to Prof Khaleefathullah, I was struck by the brilliance and humility of the man. “Thanks for coming,” he said.

It was after a very long time that I was going into a mosque. The atmosphere of friendship, regardless of one’s faith, was overwhelming.

Thank you, Prof Khaleefathullah, Mr Surana, and not just for the good food.