‘Dhol Wala’ not alien to residents of twin cities

Islamabad: The ’dhol wala’ is not alien for the residents of twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, who wake up in Ramazan every day before ’sehri’ by the reverberations of his drum.

The tradition of waking people up in the month of Ramazan is probably centuries old, born in the times when there were no facilities like the alarm clock and people had to rely upon the call of the drum beaters, who used to adopt different tactics to make the beating sound as loud as possible to ensure that people get out of their cosy beds.

The Sheri 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, in sector G-7/1. 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. “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," he added.

Usually, professional drummers who otherwise lose their business during Ramazan, are hired by the area residents for waking them up at Sheri 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 a.m. 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. The drummers also get new clothes for Eid as a reward for their good job, during the ‘sehri’ times.