Ships of desert to be main course this Bakrid

CHENNAI: At least eight camels have been brought to the city to be sacrificed on the day of Id-ul-Zuha or Bakrid. The meat will be given to the poor on November 7.  Five brothers from Saidapet have purchased eight camels from Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh on behalf of them and their family, to be sacrificed in the city.  Apart from these, sacrifice of camels will be made in over 10 places in the city including Washermenpet, Mannady and Tondiarpet.“The camels were brought from Rajasthan to a market at Kadapa in AP from where we purchased and brought them to Chennai for qurbani. The sacrificial meat will be distributed on Bakrid after prayers,” said Mohammad Ali, one of the brothers.Ali claimed he started off by buying one camel five years ago. This had increased to eight this year.  The price of a camel could be anywhere between Rs 40,000 and Rs 65,000 depending on the size. A camel aged between six and 10 years would be bought for qurbani.  “We hired lorries and could carry only two camels in a vehicle. The sacrifice will be made in our house. The meat will be given to seven persons, which would be further divided into three portions - one for the poor, one for relatives and the last for ourselves. If I have excess meat, I can give it to the poor. Religion, friend or enemy does not matter,” he explained.Claiming that qurbani was a tradition being practised for the past 5,000 years, Ali said that one could either sacrifice a goat, camel or a cow and that depends on the affordability of a person.  “If I sacrifice a goat, I can give it to only one person. But I can give a camel to seven persons,” he said.Narrating the story behind the sacrifice for the festival, Mohammad Ali explained that the festival is the commemoration of a test Prophet Ibrahim went through when Allah ordered him to sacrifice his son Ismail.  “When he places the sword on his son’s throat, Allah sends a goat through an angel to be sacrificed. So, we also sacrifice an animal. It is not the meat that God wants, it is your devotion (takva) and your aim,” he  explained.  Sacrifice of a camel is done the same way as in the case of a goat, Mohammad Ali said, adding that the legs of the camel are tied and a sharp blade is used to slit its throat. “Once the blood leaves the body, the camel dies.