Shamshad Ahmad performs rudrabhishek at a temple of Lord Shiva in the city on Monday

ALLAHABAD: Reciting Vedic mantras like ' Shiva Tandava ' and ' Bagalmukhi mantra' every day early morning and seeing patients at during the day, that has been 59-year-old Muslim doctor Shamshad Ahmad's daily routine since the last 15 years.

A resident of Rasoolpur locality of the city, Ahmad's devotion to Lord Shiva is an example of the Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb , which Allahabad is famous for.

Ahmad often recites the Mahamrityunjaya mantra and performs 'rudraabhishek' every year during the Hindu month of Shravan.

On Monday, TOI spotted him performing the rudrabhishek at the Takasaknath temple of Lord Shiva in Meerapur.

Passers-by were surprised to see Ahmad pray with folded hands and chanting shlokas along with the priests of the temple.

Ahmad said that his being a Muslim had nothing to do with his devotion for Lord Shiva or chanting Vedic mantras.

"Since my childhood, I was never comfortable with eating non-vegetarian food. In my 20s, I used shiver at the thought of sacrificing a goat during Bakreid."

The homoeopathic doctor said that he was drawn to Hindu deity after meeting a devotee of Lord Shiva at the Padela Mahadev temple in Phaphamau when he 35 years old. "I also learnt Ravana was a very learned man and was a devotee of Shiv. I was curious for a long time and then just out of curiosity started reciting ' Shiva tandava'," he added.

A father of two daughters and a son, Ahmed said, "During Bakrid, my family leaves the city for a couple of days to avoid seeing goats being slaughtered or getting the meat as a gift."

It is a part of Muslim tradition to distribute the meat of the sacrificial goat among friends and family during Bakrid.

He said that his family plans to visit his eldest daughter in New Delhi who is pursuing a PhD this Bakrid.

"When would people of my community understand that rather than killing an animal and spending around Rs 10,000-15000 on a sacrificial goat, they can food a needy person if they want to perform a a kurbaani at all," he said.

Read this story in Hindi

