YOU'RE INVITED TO OUR BIRYANI FEAST!

We warmly invite our Warburton community to join us for an 'Eid al-Fitr' biriyani  feast to mark the end of Ramadan. 

🗓  Monday 23 March | 5-7pm (or until we've emptied the Biryani pot)

EVERYONE'S WELCOME (no matter your religion / beliefs). 

NO CHARGE.

JUST BRING YOUR GOOD VIBES.

VEGETARIANS CATERED FOR.

📍 Babaji’s Kerala Kitchen - Warburton

WHY ARE WE CELEBRATING RAMADAN AT BABAJIS?

In a world that is becoming more and more divided, we are fiercely proud of our Southern Indian home state of Kerala for being a place where Christians, Muslims and Hindus co-exist harmoniously.

You’ll often find a mosque, temple and church within walking distance — and everyone shows up for each other’s celebrations including Christmas, Easter, Vishu & Dukhrana Thirunal (Feast of St Thomas).

Us Keralans love nothing more than bringing people together to celebrate.  

And of course our team at Babajis is just as diverse. We celebrate this.

We're Aussies, Indians, Sri Lankans, Muslims, Hindus, Christians and athiests, just a bunch of good humans doing their thing. 

The month of Ramadan is of special significance to Max, one of our co-founders.

His family are known as Malabar Muslims, a community considered to be the oldest native Muslim community in South East Asia (they arrived to Kerala in the 7th Century!)

If Max was back 'home' right now, as the end of 'Ramadan' draws near, he would be cooking a huge biryani for his family and friends to celebrate 'Eid al-Fitr'.... and so, whilst he can't be with them just now - we want to celebrate with you instead. 

What is Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr?

Put simply, you can think of 'Ramadan' as like Lent or a 'Community Reset'.  

It's a time when Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset to help them reflect on gratitude, self discipline, generosity and kindness. 

Then finally, after a month of daily fasting, the end of the fast is celebrated by 'Eid al-Fitr'. 

It's like a big community party. Think Christmas Day, with an abundance of food but without the presents. 

Do all Muslims fast?

Islam is like Christianity - a spectrum of beliefs and practices.

Max will be the first to admit, despite being bought up in a traditional humble Muslim family,  he's not the best at fasting or following some of the principles of Islam (ironically, these days, life in the Dandenong Ranges has made him the biggest Indian bogan you'll ever meet at the pub!).

But deep down, these are the roots of his people. 

And its these roots which show themselves through generosity and kindness.

Max is the sort of person who would give you the shirt of his back if you needed it.

That is how Islam shows up in Max.

Should we celebrate Eid in the Yarra Valley?

There may not be too many 'official' Muslims recorded in the Yarra Ranges (officially just 1% of our population) .... but from the Woolies delivery guy, to the chef in the pub kitchen, to the young person who may have a parent from a country like Indonesia... this isn't things that only happen in that 'other place'.

Right here, in Warburton, there are people fasting and looking forward to Eid.

Perhaps you know about it.

Perhaps you don't.

Perhaps they are feeling lonely, missing home and wanting to feel included where they live?

We hope our community biryani will make that homesickness a little bit less. 

We hope it will start curious conversations. 

We hope it will bring people together. 

We hope it will contribute to the kind of community we all want to live in. 

Inclusive, kind and caring. 

We look forward to welcoming you to our Eid al-Fitr celebrations. 

x Babaji's Kerala Kitchen, Warburton.