Sustainable practices to be revived |
I remember as a kid we would wait for the whole year for Eid ul Adha as it was very important for everyone. Eid ul Adha also called Baed Eid in Kashmiri or Bakr Eid in Urdu had a great significance as we would take care of sacrificial animals for an entire year or at least several months. I remember after the Eid Prayers (Namaz), our local Jamia Masjid Imam Molvi Nazir Ahmad Attar sahib would come to our home and make special prayers and after that the butcher would sacrifice the sheep. During my great-grandfather’s time, Movli Nazir Sahib’s father Moulana Alaudin Sahib would always be present for this great occasion. He too was Imam Jamia Masjid Wathoora Chadoora for many decades until his death in early 1980s. There were only a handful of families who would afford sacrifice of animals (qurbani), but our elders, my great grandfather Late Haji Ali Bhat or my grandfather Haji Ghulam Mohammad Bhat would ensure all our neighbours would get the meat. Although the pieces were small, we would ensure everyone got their share. In addition to it nobody would even think of dumping animal waste in local Chazkul (Doodh Ganga) or any other water body? It was considered a sin to throw waste of qurbani animals or their hides or any other part on roadside or in waterbodies. 30 or 40 years down the line as we claim to be educated and having made a lot of advancements in different fields of life, we behave like beasts. It is heart-wrenching to see animal hides and skulls in garbage dumping sites and waste collection points or dumped in canals, streams and other water bodies ? In the past nobody would........