Multa Fidrus

Multa Fidrus
The Jakarta Post
Tangerang

During the fasting month of Ramadhan, it has become tradition for
Muslims to spend their time at various activities while waiting
for the mosque drums to summon the breaking of the fast. Such
activity is locally known as ngabuburit.

Apparently, a favorite ngabuburit in Tangerang is fishing at
lakes, rivers and the ocean. Many people enjoy ngabuburit fishing
so much that they have often forgotten to leave their fishing
behind, even though the mosque drums had signaled the breaking of
the fast.

When The Jakarta Post visited Lake Cipondoh on Jl.
K.H. Hasyim Ashary in the Cipondoh district of Tangerang over the
weekend, more than 50 local and Jakartan residents were were
fishing there.

Many were sitting in neat lines along the lake bank, while
others were using rafts to reach the center of the lake, where
they believed more fish would take their bait.

Sudrajat, 34, a resident in Gondrong subdistrict, said he
usually began fishing at 3 p.m. and left for home at 5:45 p.m.
But when the Post met him, the father of three wanted to go home
even though it was still only 4:30 p.m.

"This is the first time in my life I have caught four fish in
this lake within 90 minutes. I want to give them to my wife
before the hour gets too late, since there is still enough time
to cook them for our breaking-the-fast meal," he joyfully told
the Post while excusing himself.

The father lives just a stone's throw from Lake Cipondoh and
fishes at the lake almost every day during the fasting month. If
he can catch two or three fish, it means that he can save some
money which would otherwise be spent on food for breaking the
fast and sahur, the meal eaten at daybreak.

Wahyudin, 23, another Cipondoh resident, said it was his first
time to fish at the lake. Before, he only accompanied his friends
to the lake and was not interested in fishing.

"Since I often saw my friends enjoying the fishing, especially
the moment they caught a fish, I decided to try it myself," he
said.

Wahyudin said that he and his group of four friends also fish
at the lake as a way to pass time until the summons for maghrib,
the sunset prayer.

"It's not bad at all, and I'm satisfied even though I only
caught one fish," he said, adding that he will give the fish to
his mother, as usual.

Besides local residents, many visitors prefer ngabuburit
fishing at Lake Cipondoh because there are several restaurants
nearby, and visitors to the lake can fish for free.

On the other hand, Ali Rahman, 44, a resident in Grendeng
subdistrict said that he prefers to spend his ngabuburit by
fishing at the Cisadane riverbank during Ramadhan.

"Unfortunately, the original fish of the Cisadane River, which
were very tasty, have been eliminated by industrial waste. Now
there are only sapu-sapu fish in the river," he said, adding that
fishing was an interesting way to pass the time while waiting for
the call to maghrib.

At Tanjung Pasir Beach in the Teluk Naga district of
Tangerang, dozens of people also fish while waiting for the daily
breaking of the fast. Some people even take their families along
so that they can break their fast with a meal of grilled fish.

"It's very nice -- my family and I can ask the vendor here to
cook the fish I have just caught from the sea," said Yosa, a
visitor from Serpong.