Odisha celebrates Eid-ul-Fitr with fervor, gaiety

Bhubaneswar: Muslims across the State are celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, with fervor and gaiety on Thursday.

Muslims from all walks of life sporting new clothes and wearing skull caps, offered prayers in a gesture of thanksgiving at the end of the month-long fasting at Eidgahs and mosques across the State. Besides, they relished the ‘seviyan’ sweet dish.

From Bhubaneswar to Bhadrak, Eid festivity gripped areas with sizeable Muslim population. Special arrangements are made in Cuttack, the City of Brotherhood, to mark the Eid celebrations.

Notably, Ramadan, also known as Ramzan, is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar.

Believed to be the month when the first verses of the Quran were revealed to Prophet Muhammad, Muslims fast every day for an entire month, abstaining from food and water from dawn to dusk, besides devoting more time to prayer and doing charity.

Ramadan ends with Eid-ul-Fitr and lasts 29 or 30 days depending on the calendar.