Gaya (Bihar): Amid the ongoing fasting in the month of Ramzan, Muslim artisans at KP Road and the Warehouse area in Gaya town of Bihar are busy making flags for upcoming Hindu festival Sri Rama Navami while the the non-Muslim traders in the area are eagerly waiting for Eid for a bumper sale of their goods. This year, while Rama Navami and Ramzan are being celebrated in the same month, there is a fear of communal tensions in many parts of the country. But in Gaya, Muslims and Hindus are upholding the age-old communal harmony. The town of Gaya, KP Road and the Warehouse area are very important from a commercial point of view.
There are very few Muslim shops in the Warehouse area, but Muslim artisans have been making Rama Navami flags here for 70 years now. According to Muhammad Rasheed, an artisan, just like Ramazan and Eid, they wait patiently for Rama Navami fete. He says that it hurts to hear the news of communal hatred in the country.
Ram Manohar, a shopkeeper in the bazaar, says that it is only brotherhood due to which a fasting Muslim makes a flag for Rama Navami. Rasheed's children, including Rashid and his brother Saleem, are also interested in the same work. Rasheed says he earns a good amount of money on the occasion of Rama Navami, but says that he no longer works to earn money, but works with the intention of social service.
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