Chawkbazar iftar carrying legacy since Mughal era

Not only acknowledged as the oldest business hub in the capital, Chawkbazar is also a celebrated locale during the holy month of Ramadan for conventional iftar items – a fiesta that goes on for centuries.

With the sun leaning towards the western horizon, Chawkbazar gets an extra buzz from a bonanza sale of a variety of flavour-packed and tempting iftar items.

The roads leading to the well-known bazar turn into a human sea struggling to cope with people as well as vehicles ending up to iftar stalls.

Hundreds of makeshift food shops invite fasting and non-fasting individuals to buy a whole lot of appetizing items, so appealing that is hard for anybody to resist.

“We are passing a very busy time this year to prepare and sell our traditional iftar items. As Covid restrictions are gone, we are all happy to have optimum customers this time,” said the makeshift traders.

“As earlier, customers are turning up here from long distances to purchase hot, spicy and savoury food found in plenty. The tradition has been going on since Mughal Era,” they recalled.

The chefs are very skillful about making iftar varieties who know how to call the attention of customers.

A recent visit to the iftar bazar found that luscious food items are gorgeously put on display in the stalls in front “Shahi Mosque”, the sight of which is enough to drive one to go for them.

The fragrance of spicy food including Suti Kebab, Shahi Paratha, Singara, Shahi Halim and many such items spreads across the area trickling one’s nostrils.

The iftar sellers appear to be beaming with pride and happiness as their sales gained momentum since the first day of Ramadan and are counting.

Suti Kebab – a Mughal-era food, and one of the most popular and traditional items in Chawbazar, sells at Tk 1,200 to Tk 1,400 per kg.

Another traditional food item Boro Baper Polai Khai, a mix delicacy of 12 items including chicken, mutton kebab, suti kebab, mincemeat, fried chickpea, etc, sells at Tk 600 per kg.

The business chorus – Baper Polai Khai, Thonga Voira Loiya Jai – reverberates around the area, making the food item accentuated.

Aqib, a student who was buying iftar with his father, said: “Every year we come to Chawbazar from Mohammadpur to take away this palatable iftar and relish them with our family.”

Of the other iftar items, Shahi Paratha sells at Tk 60 while Mutton Kofta at Tk 40, different types of kebab at Tk 20 to Tk 60, a whole chicken at Tk 250 to Tk 400 depending on sizes, Koel at Tk 70 to Tk 120 and a whole leg roast of mutton at Tk 700.

The most popular is Shahi Jilapi weighing up to 2 to 3 kilogramme which is sold at Tk 300 per kg and Shahi Halim is priced at Tk 300 to Tk 1,000.

Besides, the stalls have on sale Bahi Bora or Doi Dobani, Haleem, Kashmir Pesta Badam Sherbet, Labang and many other drinks.

“We got a huge response this year and most items are sold out before Asr Prayer,” a seller Mohammed Hosain told The Business Post.

But customers say the iftar items have got costlier this time.

“We bought Boro Baper Polai Khai at Tk 300 to Tk 400 a kg two years ago which now sells at Tk 600,” they pointed out.

But the sellers run counter to the claim. Iftar trader Noor Hosain said they sell the items at the same price as they did last year.