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    <title>Photojournale : Photo documentary and photo journal stories from around the world - Labour of Faith | Ramadan in Kolkata , India</title>
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    <description><![CDATA[Muslims worldwide observe Ramadan as a month of increased spiritual reflection, self-improvement, sacrifice, self-discipline, self-control, devotion and worship, through abstinence from food, drink, sexual relations and general avoidance of sinful speech and behavior. Ramadan postulates empathy for the less fortunate by encouraging actions of generosity and compulsory charity (zakat).<br />
<br />
Fasting (sawm or roza or puasa) during the holy month of Ramadan is obligatory for adult Muslims, except the ill, traveling, pregnant, breastfeeding, diabetic or going through menstrual bleeding. The predominant practice is fasting from sunrise to sunset. The pre-dawn meal before the fast begins is called suhoor and the sunset meal that breaks the fast is called iftaar.<br />
<br />
This is the story of 4 incredible persons who, through their immense faith, ignore their unavoidable daily labour while observing Ramadan, without a drop of water.<br />
<br />
<br />
TAYYEBA KHATOON<br />
Tayyeba Khatoon is a 96-year-old great-grandmother, who has been observing Ramadan for the last 88 years, without fail. She will not give this up for anything. Faith keeps her going. She feels tired, weak and dozes off sometimes but observes Ramadan faithfully.<br />
<br />
MOHAMMAD SIDDIQUE<br />
Mohammad Siddique is a 86-year-old rickshaw-puller. His territory is from Mahatma Gandhi Road to New Market, through Weston Street. Normally, he plies his rickshaw 10 hours a day but during Ramadan, he does 4 hours across six kilometers and is not happy with his under-delivery. He doesnï¿½t feel tempted to break his roza on a muggy afternoon.<br />
<br />
BASHEER AHMED<br />
57-year-old Basheer is a professional cook, who cooks food for iftaar for 1000 people each evening, on a wood-fed oven in his little kitchen Ripon Street but cannot taste a morsel. Basheer lives with his family, wife Rehana, daughter Zeenat (3rd year student of Chemical Engineering) and son Sheikh Mohammad Ali (Class 10 student). The family lives in a tiny room next to the kitchen where Basheer cooks every day on four ovens. He does not even drink water during the day and is totally dehydrated by the end of the day when he is done with cooking and its iftaar time.<br />
<br />
PRIYA HOME<br />
Priya Home is a Catholic by birth but observes Ramadan every year. She is a teacher and runs a school named Sacred Heart with her husband in Picnic Garden. In the evening she teaches underprivileged children of the rikhshaw-pullers and domestic helps. She breaks her fast with the children, the rickshaw-pullers and the domestic helps.<br />
<br />
Photo documentary by Jayati Saha]]></description>
    <pubDate>Wed, 15 Apr 2026 16:04:36 GMT</pubDate>
    
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      <title>Iftaar</title>
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      <pubDate>Mon, 17 Feb 2014 11:41:25 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[Naazma, Shakeela and Mohammad at iftaar. Naazma works as a part time domestic help in ten houses. Mohammad is a rickshaw-puller and Shakeela also works as a domestic help.]]></description>
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      <title>Serving food...</title>
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      <pubDate>Mon, 17 Feb 2014 11:37:40 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[Priya with her students and Naazma and Shakeela, just before iftaar. Naazma and Shakeela are domestic helps.]]></description>
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      <title>Teaching</title>
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      <pubDate>Mon, 17 Feb 2014 11:35:08 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[Class in progress.]]></description>
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      <title>Prayer…</title>
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      <pubDate>Mon, 17 Feb 2014 11:21:40 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[After iftaar, Basheer and Rehana get engrossed in their prayers and another day of Ramadan ends. This is called Faith!!]]></description>
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      <title>Breaking Roja</title>
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      <pubDate>Mon, 17 Feb 2014 11:18:42 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[As the sound of the prayer drifts in through the window, Rehana proceeds to break the fast with date palm and then everyone follows.]]></description>
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      <title>Iftaar with family…</title>
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      <pubDate>Mon, 17 Feb 2014 11:15:55 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[Its evening and iftaar time, a time to break the fast. The family gathers in the tiny and only room next to the kitchen and waits for the sound of the call for prayer drifting through the window from the nearby mosque, before they break their day long fast.]]></description>
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      <title>The oven</title>
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      <pubDate>Mon, 17 Feb 2014 11:10:26 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[Basheer Ahmed is cooking in one of the wood-fed ovens.]]></description>
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      <title>At work…</title>
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      <pubDate>Mon, 17 Feb 2014 11:05:27 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[Mohammed Siddique gets a passenger on Weston Street but the man wants him to carry his luggage only. On way to his destination.]]></description>
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      <title>Customer time…</title>
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      <pubDate>Mon, 17 Feb 2014 11:00:41 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[Mohammed Siddique decides to go to Weston Street - he will surely get a passenger there.He does not want to waste his time sitting idle.]]></description>
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      <title>Prayer…</title>
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      <pubDate>Mon, 17 Feb 2014 10:54:38 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[After iftaar, its prayer time. Tayyeba Khatoon's weak knees force her to pray sitting on the sofa, which she deeply regrets.]]></description>
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