Mysuur: More than 20,000 kgs of dates are sold in Mysuru during the holy month of Ramzan or Ramadan every year. And even if one keeps a conservative price of Rs. 500 per kg, the business runs into crores of rupees. While the normal varieties of dates cost Rs. 100 per kg, exotic varieties cost a whopping Rs. 5,000 per kg. During Ramzan, each day, Muslim families rise early in the morning and have a pre-fast meal known as Sehri. At sunset, families gather to break the fast with a meal known as Iftar. But before heading for Iftar they break their fast with dates, after which they adjourn for Maghreb prayer - the fourth of the five daily prayers. It is said that Prophet Muhammad broke fast with three dates and water. And from there on dates has been associated with Ramzan. While an Iftar meal is packed with sumptuous and signature Ramadan delicacies, ranging from kebabs, biryani, sevaian, sharbats and desserts, it is impossible to imagine a Muslim household without the presence of dates. At least 60 varieties of the fruit have arrived in the city. Shelves at the supermarkets and grocery stores in several areas in city have been flooded with a variety of dates, while few vendors also sell it on streets. Most of them are engaging themselves in additional temporary work of selling dates in the evening to earn a few rupees more. Dates are available in abundance at malls and supermarkets across the city and places like Meena Bazaar, Mandi Mohalla, Udayagiri, Rajivnagar, Shanthinagar and Akbar Road. And the good news here is that many more varieties will come to the city and when the Ramzan celebration reaches the peak, the buyers can have a choice to buy from over 75 varieties. The Loyal World Group has a host of varieties of dates at its outlets at V.V. Mohalla and Forum City Centre. “We have hosted a ‘Date Fiesta’ with over 50 varieties that have been imported from nine countries. Our varieties include Ajwa, Amber, Medjoul, Skukaray and a lot more. We have enough stocks of these delicious dates,” said Shabbir of Loyal World.
