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Ramadan 2026: Experience Mughlai-inspired community Iftar in Old Delhi
The idea is not just to feast, but to exchange stories, memories, and traditions. Here, food becomes the starting point for conversation, empathy, and human connection
- PUBLISHED: Thu 12 Feb 2026, 7:00 AM
Every Ramadan since 2017, Abu Sufiyan Khan, founder of Tales of City, curates Dastarkhwan-e-Jahaanuma in Old Delhi. It is an intimate, community-led iftar experience that goes beyond the commercial food trails people usually associate with the season.
“While most visitors explore crowded markets and restaurant-style Mughlai offerings, our focus is on the food traditions of homes,” said Khan, noting: “We work with local bawarchis (cooks) and families to present what is actually prepared and eaten in Muslim households while breaking the fast, along with the cultural and emotional significance of those dishes.”
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Tales of City is an Indian cultural experiences platform that curates immersive heritage walks, community-led gatherings, food histories, and storytelling-driven events. Founded with the vision of making culture more accessible and human, the initiative works at the intersection of lived heritage, local communities, and contemporary audiences.
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“The aim is not only to present heritage, but to make it participatory, relevant, and rooted in lived experience,” added Khan, who said his platform is “known for creating intimate, conversation-led cultural spaces where participants engage directly with historians, artists, home cooks, and community knowledge keepers.”
As a cultural curator, Khan, has over the years, designed experiences that move beyond monument-based tourism to focus on people, memory, and everyday traditions. His work includes curated heritage walks, literary gatherings, traditional food experiences, and neighbourhood storytelling formats that highlight the social fabric of historic cities.
The first such event (Dastarkhwan-e-Jahaanuma) was held in 2017, “when we felt there was a need for a more meaningful narrative around Ramadan, iftar, and the food served in our homes,” explained Khan. “The idea has always been to bring communities together to sit at the same table, share a meal, talk, and understand each other beyond what social media or popular media often portrays. Food becomes the starting point for conversation, empathy, and human connection.”
Shared cultural table
Dastarkhwan-e-Jahaanuma has not been positioned as a food festival, but as a shared cultural table where guests understand how Ramadan is lived through food, prayer, hospitality, and togetherness.
According to him, the response each year has been extremely heartening. Many guests who attend informed him that the space became their way of experiencing that warmth and learning firsthand. Over time, it has grown into a community platform for dialogue, memory, and shared understanding.
Jahaanuma translates to a point from where you can see the world, he added. Dastarkhwan-e-Jahaanuma is envisioned as a shared table that offers a wider view of cultures through food.
“The idea is not just to feast, but to exchange stories, memories, and traditions. Over the years, we have hosted meals representing different regions and communities, from Awadh to south India, and from Manipur to Himachal, each presented with its cultural context,” points out Khan.
This year, the theme focuses on Mughlai and Purani Dilli food traditions, especially dishes connected with the month of fasting.
In everyday life, people often explore food through restaurants, but rarely get to experience home-style community cooking from cultures outside their own, notes the organiser of the event. This format creates a space where food, conversation, and culture come together naturally.
Asked if he had plans to expand the event to other cities, Khan said the focus this year remains on strengthening the Delhi edition. “From next year onward, we hope to take the format to other cities in collaboration with local communities. We are open to curating editions in Lucknow, Mumbai, Agra, and Jaipur, provided local cultural partners and community members want to co-create the experience.”
The intention is always to keep it community-rooted rather than commercially replicated. The Delhi event has also attracted some Arab visitors as well as NRIs from the Gulf, including people from Dubai and even Oman. For many of them, attending Dastarkhwan-e-Jahaanuma is an emotional experience. When they return to India after years, they look for ways to reconnect with culture and community. They often bring friends, family members, and colleagues along, turning the evening into a shared celebration of Ramadan, hospitality, and belonging.
“It becomes less about dining out and more about feeling part of a community gathering, which is what Ramadan is truly about,” Khan pointed out.
