Prayers and the peacock - dancing in tune with namaz
By IANSThursday, July 8, 2010
LUCKNOW - As others lower their heads and offer namaaz, it stands in the courtyard of the mosque and does an elegant dance. No one minds, however, for the dancer in question is a peacock, and surely dance too is a form of devotion.
The peacock, fondly called “ooper wale ka parinda’ (the bird of the almighty), has become a centre of attraction at Borghasi village in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district, some 300 km from Lucknow.
“Just before namaaz time, the peacock sits on the wall of the mosque and when the prayer starts, it begins dancing inside the premises of the mosque,” Rehman, a cleric in the mosque, told reporters Thursday.
“While dancing the peacock sometimes sits on the chabootra (elevated platform), but its favourite place for the act appears to be courtyard,” he added.
“The peacock is very particular about the time of namaaz, especially the one offered in the evening. It comes well ahead of the namaaz, and starts dancing as it begins…It continues to dance throughout the prayers,” said Babar Khan, a resident of the village.
“Initially, the behaviour of the bird surprised all of us….But now the dance of the peacock during the namaaz has become a routine sight,” he added.
Locals say it was around four years ago when the bird, which has a long train of feathers that fan out when it dances, was noticed in the village for the first time. A group of locals then started feeding the peacock and gradually several others locals also developed a fondness for the bird.
“Around two years ago, the peacock entered the mosque premises after following a group of namazees. Since then, the bird started coming to the mosque on a regular basis,” Rehman said.
