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COVER STORY: Eid is about children
“Eeeeks! No, no, no! Aaaah!” Huh! What was that? Is someone being mugged? Sounds like a kid in trouble. “Don’t worry kid, all that Karate training will now come in handy,” thought I, Aunty Shazia, as I prepared for the rescue.
But rescue whom and from what? I had heard this terrifying scream while roaming through a busy ready-made garment store. There were happy and cheerful faces everywhere as everyone else, like me, was here for Eid shopping as Eid was just around the corner. Anyway, where was the shrieking coming from? My ears twitched as I tried focusing on the terrifying sounds and followed in their direction. Hurrying down the spiral staircase, hopping down two steps at a time, I reached the children’s floor. The screaming was coming from one of the dressing rooms. Angry that no one was interested in rescuing the innocent soul in there, I banged at the door with all my might. “Open this door or I’ll break it down!” I yelled. The salesgirl came running towards me. She tried pulling me away. “Someone in there is in trouble, we have to help.” I told her.
“No, you don’t understand. It’s just a...”
“If you can’t help then get out of my way, woman.” I scolded the poor salesgirl.
And then the door swung open. Out came a mother with her difficult but cute eight-year-old daughter. Could this angel be making so much noise? “What’s the commotion all about?” the mother asked looking at the salesgirl.
“Ma’am, your daughter’s screams prompted this young lady right here into thinking that someone was beating up your child. She came to help. I was just trying to explain...”
“That my daughter hates trying out new clothes.” The mother smiled.
The misunderstanding was cleared. I felt so embarrassed. Turning to the now quiet little girl, the mother said, “See what happens when you scream and shout like that?” And then with an amused look she said to me, “Sorry to have caused you so much trouble. As you can see, Natasha here hates Eid shopping. She doesn’t like wearing cute dresses. She’s a tomboy. She likes to wear jeans and T-shirts all the time. But she’s my only daughter, I want to dress her up like a doll at least for Eid but as you can see it isn’t easy.”
I smiled sheepishly, apologized and to avoid myself any further embarrassment I hurriedly made my exit.
Eid is a strange time of the year. You celebrate it year after year and each time you are also thinking about the previous Eids. Maybe that wild child I encountered at the shop would one day also look back and remember what she was like during this time of the year, and smile at the memory.
Eids bring on fond old memories. I too remember a little girl and her mother making preparations for the day on Chaand raat. New clothes, shoes, bangles and mehndi. When she was very little, she hated mehndi because she didn’t like dirtying her hands but she had grown to like it by the time she was five or six. The mother would first apply it on her girl’s chubby little hands and then just on her own left hand as after that she didn’t have a hand free to apply it on her right palm. But she was happy seeing her daughter happy. The applied design too was amateurish. Sometimes it would be just a flower or sometimes just a star and crescent. On Eid day, while comparing her design with her cousins’ decorated hands, the girl felt happy to have her own unique mehndi designs.
Ah those days... Never to return, they were to be cherished. She took a lot for granted back then. But now she knows of their value as she holds on to her cherished memories. Things never remain the same. Nothing lasts forever. The mother one day, left for her eternal abode and all the daughter was left of her were those loving memories, specially of Eid times. Now all grown up, she knows the significance of this time of the year. The days past bring sadness as well as joy as she remembers small things, the mention of which bring on a smile and even little laughs. How bhaiyya on his very first Eid prayers fell asleep during the Sujda and then the second year how he managed a somersault too.
Everything has changed and still nothing has as this year too like the previous years, she would go out on Chaand raat, shop for new clothes, shoes, bangles and go out with cousins and friends to apply mehndi and be happy while making her happiness infectious for she knows that in her happiness is the happiness of her elders. Always remember this, kids. Happy Eid to you all!
On this Eid...
It’s a very rare occasion; one that comes just twice a year in the form of Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha. It’s a great holiday where you leave behind all your worries and tensions and just concentrate on having fun. Eid-ul-Azha is also known as Baqr Eid or Bari Eid as its celebration goes on for three days. This Eid, the one we are going to celebrate now, is called Eid-ul-Fitr or Meethi Eid. It’s a short and sweet occasion that comes after Ramazan and where, to get out of the habit of fasting, you treat yourselves to all kinds of delightful eats, the main dish being Siwayyan of course.
Your soul was cleansed during the month of Ramazan and for a clean new soul; there should be clean new clothes. For the clothes you do a lot of shopping. If you are sensible enough, you do it way before Eid but if you are as crazy as me, you’ll wait for Chaand raat, your last chance to tend to last minute details. Chand raat shopping means bearing the rush, traffic jams, long endless queues and the pick pockets. Ha, ha, ha, they are out shopping too, and with your cash, so watch out!
Did you send out Eid cards? Oh no! You forgot? Well, if it’s too late to send them out via snail mail, then check out the virtual variety on the net. You may email your greetings.
Eid day dawns and it’s show time! The male members of the family get ready first and go to say Eid prayers. This Eid is called Eid-ul-Fitr because of the Fitra you pay. You pay Fitra before saying your Eid prayers. Usually the head of the family pays the Fitra by counting the members in his family and multiplying their total with the price of 1-3/4 kg of wheat. No this is not the Maulvi Sahib’s Eidi. This money goes to charity.
After the prayers everyone, even strangers embrace. This a day of goodwill. The servant and master embrace each other like brothers.
Coming back home, it is Eid Milan time, Siwayyan and Eidi collecting time. It’s a great day for reunions. Setting their differences aside everyone wishes each other Eid Mubarak! — SH
Eid ka chaand
“Arrey aap tau Eid ka chaand ho gaye!” I am sure you must have heard this line. Eid ka chaand is something we all long to see but seeing it is not very easy as it is a rare sight. That is what this sentence means too. Whoever it is said to is not easily accessible.
Each year, after the 29th Roza we all turn our gaze upwards to the sky hoping to catch a glimpse of Eid ka chaand, the new moon marking the end of Ramazan and the beginning of Shawwal. We are not the only ones doing this though. There are experts on the lookout too.
These experts, a group of Maulanas, are known as the Ruet-i-Hilal committee. Each year carrying binoculars and telescopes they hold meetings on the tallest of buildings trying to spot the thin crescent. Whichever city the president of the Ruet-i-Hilal committee belongs to, becomes the venue of their meeting. They are also open to receiving evidence of moon sightings from anywhere else in the country.
So eager were we to see the Eid ka chaand during the decade of the 1950s and 1960s that these Maulvi Sahibs would have to go for a ride in the skies in air force planes! Yes, the first plane reserved for the exciting adventure was a Bristol Freighter, which carried the entire Ruet-i-Hilal committee to witness the new moon. On the second occasion it was a B-57 bomber, which carried only the head of the Ruet-i-Hilal committee. The third time the plane was a F-104 Star-fighter and the passenger was again the head of the Ruet-i-Hilal committee. But this time was the last time for any Maulvi Sahib to go in a plane in search for the Eid moon. At about 20,000 feet, the respected Maulana felt claustrophobic in his helmet and took it off! This resulted in his passing out due to lack of oxygen. Above the cloud cover the beautiful shinning crescent became visible and the pilot shouted for the Maulana to see it. But the poor Maulvi Sahib was in no condition to do that so the quick thinking pilot took a picture of the moon. And that is how Pakistan celebrated Eid the following day. —SH
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