It was hype minus the main ingredient -- the public: security arrangements had been made to tackle the crowds and the Jama Masjid was lit up for the occasion. Though the posters had anticipated the presence of lakhs of people, there were barely 300 who came to hear the Imam's takrir (speech).

In fact, repeated announcements were being made to persuade the crowd standing outside to come in and join the meeting. People attending the function remembered the good old days when people came from as far as Meerut to listen to the Imam. ``Now everybody believes that the Imam should stay away from political matters. Nobody takes his political views seriously,'' said a resident of Matia Mahal.

The Naib Imam and the Shahi Imam both addressed the gathering around midnight, though the scheduled time was 8 p.m.. All political references were avoided and the speech was devoted entirely to the meaning of a `good Muslim'. The rest of the time was spent listening to child ghazal singers and other local poets.