November 22, 2003

Mrs Khan was quickly arranging the dining-table with home-made dishes of cholay, siwaian, pakoray, cakes, and many other delicious items. She then made some last-minute changes in the decorations of the drawing-room. She wanted everything to be perfect when her children and their father returned home from the Eid Namaz. She was thinking how happy Asad would be with his new black Kurta and little Samia with her pink Shalwar Kameez for Eid, which she herself had made. She also smiled when she thought about how Sara was overjoyed when she brought her new golden shoes for Eid on Chand Raat. She had stayed awake all night applying Mehndi over the little hands of her daughters while they were fast asleep. She had bought a ready-made green suit for herself too, but was not the least bothered about wearing it. She only wanted her kids to wear their new clothes and be happy. Their happiness was hers. Suddenly the ringing of the doorbell stopped her train of thoughts: her husband and kids were back with some other friends and she went to greet them.

Soon the decorated drawing-room was filled with the elated kids. The kids were shouting and laughing with glee, asking their mom who looked the best. They were counting the Eidi that they had got from their parents and uncles. They were also showing off their dresses to their friends and comparing each others’ Mehndi. They were all gobbling up the dishes on the table and exclaiming that the food was very tasty indeed, while their mom was constantly telling them not to drop food on their new dresses. Seeing her children munching and chatting away happily, satisfied Mrs Khan — her happiness was complete and her job for Eid was done.

Soon the door bell rang again and Khalid, the Khan’s eldest son dashed to open the door. There stood Khalid’s fiancee’, Uzma shyly smiling at the door. Khalid exclaimed that she was looking very pretty, in her multi-coloured Shararah, and silver sandals, and the pearl necklace he had given to her. Uzma again gave a mesmerizing smile and said that he was looking good too. This made Khalid beam with pride as if he had crossed seven oceans. He escorted her to the drawing-room, where she received a zillion ‘oohs’ and ‘ahs’ from everyone. He gave her a bouquet of red roses, which made her very happy. They sat down and got busy in their own romantic world.

In the other room Mr Khan’s youngest sister, Samina was sitting. She was a bookworm and was studying hard for her impending exams. She was not dressed up at all. “Well, why waste time dressing up or celebrating Eid when you can study so much in that time!” was her theory. But soon she couldn’t resist the laughter and chatter that came from the drawing-room. She went out to peep through the door what was going on in the drawing-room. When she saw everything, she couldn’t bear to be left out and quickly went to dress up. “I will just go out to greet everyone for five minutes, only!” She thought. But after she dressed and stepped into the drawing-room, she didn’t feel like leaving the festivities. She joined everybody and started to feel very ecstatic and delighted. “Oooh!” she thought. “What a good break from all that memorizing history and writing compositions!”

And yes, another person of the family, Mr Khan’s younger brother, Ali, was too weak and ill to join the celebrations. Yet he came over and lay down on the sofa, quietly munching away and enjoying the whole show in the drawing-room.

Mr Khan was relaxed, knowing that he had succeeded in providing his family all the financial support to make this occasion a very happy one.

As everyone was gobbling away and talking, Dadi Jaan sat quietly in the corner of the room. Anyone would have thought that she was not in a mood for enjoyment at all. But they were wrong. She sat happily observing all her children — her sons and daughters, daughters-in-law, sons-in-law and grandchildren. She remembered, by watching her grandchildren, how happy she used to be happy on Eid. She then saw Samina and Ali, and remembered how she felt on one Eid when her exams were to be held a week later, and once when she was very ill. Looking at Khalid and Uzma giving each other romantic smiles made her cherish that Eid when she and Dada Jaan were about to get married and she came just like Uzma on Eid day to this very same house where now she lives. Then she shifted her gaze to her daughter-in-law, who was pleasantly satisfied by watching her happy children. Dadi Jaan remembered then how she herself was delighted seeing her children happy on Eid during her motherhood. She then saw her son, contentedly looking round the room, and remembered how Daada Jaan was glad too on Eid, fulfilling everyone’s needs. Finally her eyes set on another corner — where Daada Jaan was sitting. When she saw him, he winked at her from behind his thick glasses, and she understood that he was also feeling the same. All she wished was that this happiness would always last in the family.

So this was the Eid of the Khan family. Each person was enjoying Eid in his/her own unique way. A mother, seeing the happiness of her children, a father, satisfying the needs of his family and the youth by their own romance. Even the grandparents were enjoying themselves, observing their children happily, and blessing the whole family to always remain happy just like this. May Eid always bring bundles of happiness for each and every family. Aameen.

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