It is the fourth day of Eid. You wake up thinking of an omelette and bread, or maybe just toast for breakfast. You ask mum, and she says, “Come sit, let me quickly fry the naan.”

And this is where reality hits you. Last night, the third day of Eid, there was a dinner party at your home, and there is still some leftover qorma, which means you’ll have qorma for breakfast. You see, mother is standing next to the qorma bowl with that specific look on her face — not angry and also not asking, there is an order, a warning. The naan is already fried. The plate is out. You look at her. She looks at you. You sit down and finish the qorma.

Then noon arrives and you think okay, lunch will be different. And it is different. There is a new dish on the table, next to it is a plate of leftover kababs from yesterday’s dinner, and everyone must take a share or face their mother’s wrath. Your mum slides them to everyone one by one and then it is your turn. “Finish this, also,” she says.

Sorry, but you cannot argue with your mum in this. It is what it is. She is handling it all, so she doesn’t want anything to go to waste. Keep your tantrums to yourself!

This is Eidul Azha. The big one. The one where, in most households, an entire animal comes to the house in the form of meat and your entire family’s mission for the next few days, sometimes weeks, is to make sure none of it goes to waste.

Eidul Azha is easily the most delicious time of the year. From meat overload to the endless cycle of relative invites, surviving the post-feast chaos takes a lot of water, a lot of patience and some cleaning up

What we actually ate this Eid!

The last few days were all about eating. Eid morning started with something sweet. It was good, light and manageable. But soon the meat marathon started. First, it is the fresh stuff, like the liver and kidneys, which are fried up almost immediately because that is the tradition, and also because some elders in the family insist that the kaleji (liver) on Eid morning is non-negotiable.

By afternoon, the meat has been divided and distributed, and a good portion of it is already cooked and dished out on the dining table. The aroma in the house is incredible, and everyone is excited.

Evening comes and someone from the extended family arrives. It suddenly things turn into a grand dinner. The night was not light. Too heavy on the stomach! Yeah.

Day two is the start of the proper lunch and dinner invites. Every household is cooking; every household is inviting. You eat at your own house, you eat at the relative’s house, you eat with your friends, although you just went there to taste one kabab, somehow you ended up with a full plate of kababs, a plate of biryani, two bottles of cold drink and burps loud enough for the whole street to hear on your way out.

Day three is when the variety peaks. Now you have namkeen gosht and paya that’s been slow cooking since yesterday, someone made nihari, the seekh kababs, and there is pulao as well. The table looks like a meat spread and you are again tempted to try everything.

By day four, your body is begging for mercy. And somehow your refrigerator is also.

Your stomach’s FIR against you and your family!

If stomachs had a say, they would have filed an FIR against you. It has been processing meat since Eid morning. No light stuff. It has had less water than usual because you were drinking soda instead to beat the heat. The tummy has been working overtime for four days straight, with no break and no notice.

Some people get the heavy, sluggish feeling where they just feel full all the time, even when they haven’t eaten in hours. Some people get the opposite problem, which we will not describe in detail, but you know what it is, because it is a secret between them and the toilet.

Red meat, such as beef and lamb, is full of protein and iron, so your body needs more fluid to break it down. So drink more water. This is the most boring advice, but it is the most beneficial one.

The freezer situation

I can say for sure that the current situation of your freezer is miserable. If anyone would do a second complaint against you, after your stomach, it would be the freezer. It has also been treated without considering its rights.

There are bags in there that have been carefully labelled by your mum; however, there are some unidentified bags as well. The freezer is overflowing so much that the freezer door barely closes. And if by chance there are ice cubes, they also smell like meat.

Outside the house — the street situation

The streets after Eidul Azha are a whole separate conversation. In some neighbourhoods, the cleanup is done right after the sacrifice, which shows that the community is taking care of the situation themselves.

But sadly, not everyone feels responsible and obliged to clean afterwards. They wait for the municipality to come and do their job, forgetting that the more time the blood, bones and other waste remain in the open, the worse the situation will be, especially in this heat.

This is not just an aesthetic problem. It is a hygiene and health issue. Pests, such as flies and various bugs, are drawn to and born in it. The municipal services do try to conduct a cleanup after Eid, but they are dealing with every corner and street in an area, so they may take time to reach your place, which means a significant part of the responsibility actually lies with us.

I am telling you this so that you behave like a responsible citizen and do what you can rather than just wait for the authorities.

Getting back to normal

Now that Eid has passed, the energy shifts. The Eid buzz is quite silenced except for occasional barbecue parties. The fridge is still full, but now you see vegetables or lentils on the dining table as well.

After the fast-paced festive Eid days, the house needs a deep clean. Not a surface wipe, an actual clean. Post-Eid houses carry the smell and the residue of the sacrificial animal, meat, heavy cooking and a lot of people coming in and out. Open the windows. Help mum wash the things that need washing.

Or at least sort the clutter from around the house. Your mum has been cooking since before Eid started. She is tired. This is the part where you show up.

Published in Dawn, Young World, May 30th, 2026