Ramadan wake-up callers keep age-old tradition alive in Kashmir

With Ramzan come the Seharkhwans [Ramadan wake-up callers] — the drum-beaters who wake up people for the pre-dawn meal ‘Sehri’ — to the cities and towns of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

Hundreds of these men, who arrive from remote villages, have kept the age-old tradition alive, despite the ubiquity of modern gadgets such as mobile phones and alarm clocks.

From time immemorial, their drum beats have woken up Kashmiris for that one meal that keeps them going as they fast during the day.