Abu Dhabi: Inspired by his Muslim classmates and friends, Madhav Jay, a 12-year-old Hindu boy, is fasting every Saturday of the holy month this year.
“After seeing my classmates do it, I thought why not try it myself,” says Madhav who is in 7th grade in Abu Dhabi Indian School.
His first task was to understand the concept of Ramadan. After Googling and asking friends about terms like suhour, iftar and the importance of fasting, he realised it was not going to be an easy feat. “But I did not want to give up,” he says.
Mental reserve
Resisting appeals from his family members to break his fast, he continues the whole process with due diligence.
His suhour consists of a banana and a glass of warm milk fed to him lovingly by his grandmother. Iftar consists of his favourite fried snacks followed by dinner. He says he does not feel tired as he doesn’t think of it too much.
“He has great mental reserve and once he sets out to do something, nobody can stop him,” says his mother Reeja Modesh.
“He wanted to do it last year, but I kept on thwarting it as I wasn’t prepared to see him fasting,” she says. “Now that he is doing it, he wants me to join him.”
Madhav is a class topper and takes part in various co-curricular activities like music, quiz etc. “Next year, I will try fasting on weekends. Eventually, I hope to fast the whole month,” he says.