An old man patches gunny sacks damaged by the rains
in Koyambedu vegetable market
- New Indian Express photo by P. Jawahar



Reading The Cassandra Pages, I was reminded that Ramzan, as Ramadan is called in the sub-continent, starts on October 27 this year. From the Times of India:
Ramzan begins today

HYDERABAD : The holy month of Ramzan will begin on Monday. The moon was sighted on Sunday night. Fasting will begin at 4.50 am on Monday.

The announcement came after hours of suspense as the Ruyyat-e-Hilal Committee of Hyderabad did not sight the moon till 8 pm on Sunday. Finally, when the crescent was sighted, sirens were sounded from mosques to inform the faithful.

Namaaz-e-Taraveeh, the special namaaz performed during the month of fasting, began from Sunday night.
A link with information about the meaning of Ramzan is here. This site has general information, and also the texts in Arabic and English, along with audio, of the prayers to be recited on every day of Ramzan, beginning here (click on 'Dua' to hear the prayers).

Update: I'm always learning something from Language Hat. Here, he explains why the word Ramzan is used in the sub-continent, instead of the Arabic Ramadan.


Nature's Great Masterpiece: The Elephant -- Treasures of the Ewell Sale Stewart Library . Via Mysterium

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