ISLAMABAD (APP) – The Sehri drums beaters (Dhol Wala) still cherish to keep the custom alive as this is fading away due to modern technology.
“It’s not that the people of my area do not have modern equipment, they do have, but they want to keep this custom alive,” said a drum beater Muhammad Hussain here at sector G-7.
He said once most people would wake up to the loud drumbeats in the wee hours, heralding the start of Sehri time during Ramazan. However, with the modern technology, this tradition has declined.
He said “I feel very happy to wake the people up. I never enjoyed any other event like this and feel that I am doing a good and positive activity.” Usually, professional drummers who otherwise lose their
business during Ramazan, are hired by the area residents for waking them up at Sehri during the holy month. “Drummers are either paid or volunteers, but their (Sehri) food is the responsibility of the area people”, he added.
A man, while beating a drum, visits the congested streets, usually around 2 AM. Most of the times, he calls out loudly, “Utho rozay daro” and makes sure that the thunderous beat of his drum along with his slogans are loud enough to wake up the residents of a particular locality.
Most of the drummers get their pays. They also get new clothes for `Eid as a reward for their good job, during the Sehri times.
The drummers do perform their dities by allocating streets on rotational basis.
