A summertime Eid story

His desirous lovey-dovey stare and her coy smile says that the young couple on the rickshaw on that breezy sunlit Chaitra afternoon are in love, and perhaps soon to be wedded. They are a good-looking couple, the girl holding a packet with lowered gaze and the boy looking at her in a manner that clearly says the world is his oyster.

Courtship is such a lovely time in a relationship-- until you marry and join life's rat race; it's true even for the birds and bees. But let us forget the grinding adulthood and bask in the summer romance for a while. After all its Eid time.

A crunchy choc-bar ice-cream or a chilled glass of iced tea is such a pleasure after a full sumptuous Eid lunch; and for that any cool uncle or aunt would love to splurge on for the younger tots; or the cousin gang can go out for a spin. It's a must summer Eid thing, even moms and their friends can relax with a cool drink on a lovely sunny afternoon.

I know, the heat maybe too much but don't forget the gentle summer breeze swooshing past you and you fanning yourself with a sandalwood hand fan; its such a colonial Dhaka feel. This beautiful ambience is only deepened with the sweet sound of the male cuckoos cooing to attract the females, sparrows prying in the garden to search for sticks to build their homes in some cosy nook or cranny.

The Eid home decor this summer demands an explicit assortment of lilies in pink, white, red or ochre with twigs of ferns added with gardenias and frangipani bunches, their sweet maddening smell will make you giddy like the frenzied bees on a summer afternoon.

Summer has its romantic moments that I love, the sudden Boishakh downpour, the hailstorms that make the hanging green mangoes fall from the branches, for kids to gather them in drenched frocks and pant pockets. Parched and thirsty, the street dog diving into the lake and showing off his swimming skills; Eid or no Eid, summer in Dhaka is in itself a time for celebration, the Jaishtha fruits, the cloudy skies or the deafening thunder, the parched throat or sweaty face, even the repetitive staccato of the ceiling fan-- everything in nature and man has a hint of romance and amorousness to it.

We the city dwellers miss this side of summer and instead agonise over power cuts, water shortages; lets forget these realities of our lives for a wee while and enjoy the Eid and Cricket World Cup.

I hope you have all enjoyed Star Lifestyle's Eid issues as much as we liked rolling them out for you. Eid Mubarak to my readers and esteemed advertisers.

-- RBR

Photo: LS Archive/Sazzad Ibne Sayed