The auspicious month of Ramadan (Ramzan) has begun which is marked by the sighting of the moon. Ramzan falls within the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and holds nice significance for the Muslim group throughout the globe. The holy month of Ramzan will conclude on April 21 with Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations and for Zee Theatre’s artists, Vaquar Shaikh, Shahbaz Khan, and Zakir Hussain, this time of fasting, prayer and reflection may be very particular.
Vaquar who stars in ‘Kasganj,’ Zee Theatre’s brooding cop drama, says he began preserving ‘Rozas’ across the age of 14 and celebrated Eid within the cantonment as his father was within the military. He remembers, “Even although it was exhausting to quick the entire day as a teen, the prospect of scrumptious meals within the night throughout ‘Iftar’ stored me going. As a token of appreciation, my grandfather would give me a rupee every single day and it’s nonetheless one in every of my favorite recollections.”
Since then, Vaquar has in fact understood the deeper significance of Ramzan and says, “This time teaches you self-discipline and hunger teaches us to empathise with the hungry and to help people in need. Ramzan is also a time to cleanse ourselves and refrain from speaking ill of anyone, rejecting feelings of envy and living with compassion and gratitude.”
Vaquar typically has prolonged shoots throughout Ramzan and shares, “Speaking long dialogues while remaining thirty can be challenging but I manage it. I also make it a point to spend time with my family during ‘Sehri’ in the morning and ‘Iftar’ in the evening. At home, we all chip in to make milkshakes, juices, samosas, kababs, biryani, sheer khurma and fruit chaat. This family time is the most beautiful part of Ramzan for me. This year though festivities will be a little low-key as I lost my dad last year and this will be our first Eid without him”
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Shahbaz Khan who performs poet Daagh Dehlvi in Zee Theatre’s teleplay, ‘Daag-O-Hijab’ has many childhood recollections related to Ramzan and says, “As a child, I looked forward to the ‘sehri’ that my mother made so special with her presence and her cooking. Now Ramzan has become a month of self-introspection away from the chaos of worldly pleasures. Fasting teaches you what hunger is all about and you realize that even a little percentage of your earnings can change someone’s life forever.” This can also be a time, he says, to detox the thoughts, physique and soul, forge a deeper bond with God and attempt to develop into a greater human being. This yr as all the time, he hopes to spend  Eid with household and mates and says, “Eid is all about bonding, eating and laughing together.”
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Zakir Hussain who stars in Zee Theatre’s teleplays ‘Rajdarshan’ and ‘Baaki Itihaas’ says, “Ramzan is about balancing and detoxifying your mind and body and learning the value of every mouthful. I like staying busy while keeping ‘rozas’ because, during a shoot, your mind is focused towards your work and not distracted by hunger or thirst. I am looking forward to celebrating Eid with loved ones and enjoying ‘kheer’ and ‘sewainyaan.’ I also hope to internalise the spiritual lessons learnt during this month of fasting so that going forward, they remain with me every single day.”
