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Woman who wakes up Muslims for Sehri during Ramzan: Torch, baton and call for devout

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BURHANPUR: For a large number of residents, the gentle knock at the door and her voice serves as alarm, instead of alarm clock.

'Utho Rozedaro Utho..', is how Malan Bi, wakes up the devout for Sehri during Ramzan.

It's pitched dark at around 3 am in the night, but the elderly woman is out on the street--carrying torch in one hand and 'lathi' in the other.

Tapping the doors with 'lathi' gently, she moves swiftly, crosses lanes and bylanes, passes though different localities and travels a long distance, returning home by around 4 am.

For the last 25 years, she has been following the same path, waking up the 'rozedaar'. She is well-known in the town and is acquainted with some many people. You hear her waking up people taking up the names of the residents too, 'Sabir Baba utho, Phuphi utho'.

In some cities, fakirs traditionally gave a call to the devout to get up and have some food before starting the dawn to dusk fast. In Buhranpur too, there are some fakirs doing it. But it is rare to find a woman walking out for such a long distance at night.

From Khanqah Ward, she goes to Madarsa, Gandhi Chowk, Jai Stambh and adjoining localities. Malan Bi feels that it is a service. She says that as long as she is able to move around, she will continue the practice. [Photo courtesy Dainik Bhaskar]