Religious duty: Muslims attending Friday prayers at Tanah Abang Market in Central Jakarta spill out into surrounding alleyways.

Is there anything worse than routine? Anything more horrifying than doing the same thing every single day of every single week, every single year? Author Paulo Coelho once wrote, '€œIf you think adventure is dangerous, try routine; it is lethal.'€

And yet, Muslims all over the world look forward to the routines and customs of one particular month: Ramadhan. The ninth month of the Islamic calendar  is observed by the faithful worldwide as a period of fasting to commemorate the first revelation of the Koran to the Prophet Muhammad.

Ramadhan is a time of spiritual reflection and increased devotion, in which the world'€™s Muslims, more than 12 percent of whom live in Indonesia, abstain from eating, drinking and smoking during daylight hours. Muslims are also expected to follow the teachings of Islam more intensively.

The month brings routines of which we never tire. Traffic jams prevail every afternoon, as people rush home to break the fast with their families, stopping on the way to buy takjil (breaking-of-the-fast snacks) from the countless stalls set up in city centers.

People also rush to buy tickets on buses, trains, planes; it is traditional for Muslims to return to their home villages to celebrate Idul Fitri, the end of the fasting month. Meanwhile, Ramadhan offers special snacks and food like lemang, West Sumatra'€™s flavored glutinous rice, and timun suri, diced cucumber with syrup.

Yes, it'€™s all a routine, but rest assured, it'€™s the kind of routine we enjoy.

'€“ Text and photos by JP/Seto Wardhana

Popular

PDI-P will likely be part of opposition: Ganjar

Indonesia one step from Olympics after beating South Korea

Bahlil leads task force to boost sugar, bioethanol production in Papua