Rattling out syncopated beats from a dhol drum, Lal Hussain saunters through the empty streets of Pakistan’s Rawalpindi waking residents for their morning feast before fasting begins during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. But this centuries-old tradition is increasingly rare in Pakistan. Millions of devout Pakistanis observe the holy fasting month of Ramadan. From sunrise on they abstain from food and drink, breaking their fast at sunset with iftar. Then in the hours before dawn they eat once more, with sehri, the morning meal. Drummers once provided the heartbeat to the sehri ritual but their future is now uncertain.
