Where festivals have the same festive spirit

It is probably as a result of the impact of the Khwaja shrine and Pushkar at Ajmer that in many villages surrounding the city Hindus and Muslims celebrate the same festivals.

For instance, in Ajaysen and Khadekri, Muslims celebrate Hindu festivals and Hindus eat only halal (koshered) meat and bury their dead.

Merat, Cheetah and Khatat tribes, who inhabit these villages claim descent from 11th century Rajput chieftain Prithviraj Chauhan, send most of their men to the armed forces.

At Ratanlal-Giralal tea shop in Khadekri, Jalaluddin, an old Muslim, told Sumita Paul of The Sunday Times of India that in the village “names make little difference, for we follow both traditions; in the same family the father can have a Muslim name and the son a Hindu name.”      

Allauddin, a village elder, goes to the temple of Ramdeo, a local deity, and also to the mosque. All his children have Hindu names.

During marriage ceremonies, he said, “if the women so wish, we have pheras (the Hindu tradition of the One bridal couple going round the sacred fire) as well”, and he claims that “from one house as many as 20 to 22 coconuts are offered to Hindu gods”.

In most Muslim homes, Diwali is celebrated with a full-fledged Lakshmi Puja. Similarly, Holi is celebrated, as traditional Muslim festivals like Eid and Shab-e-Baraat.

People of both communities visit temples and mosques and, after death, whether the person is a Muslim or a Hindu, the body is buried; and people of both communities eat only koshered meat.

Biram Singh, an employee of a state government department, said that there is a healthy mix of religious and cultural styles.

Yakub Ali is a staunch Muslim who never misses Friday prayers, but never misses visits to temples too.

One of his brothers has a Muslim name and another Hindu name.