Puducherry's oldest mosque celebrates with hundreds of people and 300 kg biryani

To mark the auspicious occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr a mosque in Puducherry served over 300 kgs of biryani to over a thousand people. What is more special about the arrangement is that the mosque is the oldest one in Union Territory, built in the 18th century.

New structures have been built around the original Meerapalli mosque, also known as Meera mosque by locals. Over a thousand people of different faiths feasted on the biryani - a delicacy which features on every household's Eid menu.

Form the recipe to the serving, everything was kept traditional as attendees relished the dish on banana leaves. Given a large number of guests, the preparations were started early in the day with multiple open stoves being set up to cook the biryani in huge vessels.

Heaps of chopped vegetables mixed with a blend of spices and a huge amount of rice went into the preparation of the meal. With the holy month of Ramzan coming to a close today, the entire nation is immersed in Eid festivities. The day symbolises the act of paying respect to Allah for granting strength and resilience during the month-long fasting.

The festival is celebrated by sharing a delightful dish called 'Seviyan' (vermicelli) that comes under different varieties like 'Hath Ka Seviyan,' 'Nammak Ka Seviyan,' 'Chakle Ka Seviyan' and 'Laddu Seviyan.' The date is fixed on the sighting of the new moon by religious authorities, which marks the start of the lunar Hijri month. The terminology Eid-ul-Fitr commonly translates to the "festival of breaking fast". This marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting.

(With inputs from agencies.)