Post-Jumu'ah shopping!

Besides the fact that a mosque is a place of spirituality and divinity, it is also a centre for the neighbourhood. And the Friday congregation makes a mosque a place visited by hundreds or even thousands. Given the 'traffic', it is obvious why vendors set up their makeshift stalls or carts around the mosque.

Skullcaps, prayer beads, prayer mats et al are not the only things for sale. There are vendors selling everything from clothing to fruits and vegetables. It becomes a vibrant market and allows for some quick shopping.

After the prayers are over, many devotees buy things on their way home. Shaila Ameen, 48, recollects her father always bringing something or the other when he used to come home from the mosque. "I used to wait eagerly for my dad to return home and hand me something. He sometimes used to bring me balloons, especially after the Eid prayers. It has made such a lasting impression on me that even now I am fascinated by balloons and become elated when I get one!"

On any given Friday, a market settles down around a mosque, and if it is a Friday on Ramadan, the market is busier, offering a diverse range of things to buy. And if it is Eid, then you can only imagine the site and its ambience.

Be it to please a dear one or to do some groceries, the post-Jumu'ah market is a vibrant and essential one!