Eid-ul Fitr
By
Kavita Chiranji
It's time once
again for rejoicing. Already the Eid spirit is on us with its brightly
illuminated shops, crowds of buyers and innovative gift items. After
fasting in the holy month of Ramadan, Eid-ul-Fitr is a day of joy
and marks the return to the normal routine of life.
Eid and
fitr are Arabic words. Eid means festival and fitr
means to open, to break fasting or go back to the normal situation.
This is the greatest religion festival of the Muslims. It brings together
the various strata of society ranging from rich and poor, old and
young and friends and foes on the same platform and promotes equality,
one of the basic tenets of Islam.
Eid is a day for
families to get together, exchange gifts and greet one another irrespective
of age or status. They also visit the graves of relatives and pious
Muslims. Many people pay fitra to the poor. Food and clothes
are also distributed to the poor.
Eid means an extended
holiday for young and old alike, since the government declares a holiday
for three days. It is a time when city goers with roots in the villages
go back to their ancestral homes to meet relatives and celebrate the
festival together.
The rural areas
bustle with Eid fairs. The fairs are arranged on the bank of a river
or under a big banyan tree near the local bazaar. At these gatherings,
handicrafts, foodstuffs and sweets are sold. Other popular draws are
dolls, decorated pottery and musical instruments such as flute, drum
and ektara. Some fairs also boast of merry-go-rounds, puppet
shows and bioscopes.
For
the very young it is an occasion keenly awaited. The elders are more
blase. Says Shayma Karim, 'Eid is a time for families to get together
and spend time with each other. As one gets older, the excitement
is tempered.'
Eidie
Dilemma
By
Jennifer Ashraf
Ah…
So Eid is finally
here again! This time though, I am being a teensy bit apprehensive
about the usual Eid festivities, which normally I used to really look
forward to. One thing that I am particularly dreading is the 'Eidei'
tradition; yes, yes, the days of gleefully receiving Eidei have been
replaced by the days of miserably parting with it. Your younger cousins,
siblings and other general 'pichchi bachchas' suddenly launch an attack
on you, and you're forced to part with your hard-earned money. Even
if you decide to say 'no', the pouting expressions on these adorable
kids soon change your mind. Fear not, cause once again dilemma queen
Jen's here with a few ridiculous (if not helpful) ways to escape the
Eidei clutches. You'll notice that kids are often fascinated with
expensive gadgets. A young guy just might fall in love with your dad's
expensive mobile phone, while a young girl might spend hours admiring
that new diamond necklace your mum bought. Find their weak point;
get to know their heart's inner desire. Then set your plan into action.
Two days prior to Eid, casually mention that you're saving money for
a new surprise present for your younger cousin/sibling. Needless to
say they'll beg and cajole till you finally tell them what the surprise
is (your victim's weak point).
During Eid, once
they ask for their money, you can start moaning on how hard you have
worked on saving your money, and how if you gave away money at this
rate, the surprise gift may never be reality at all. Not only will
they stop bugging you for their money, but they'll also ensure that
others don't bug you as well!
Another thing, which you can do, is to make sure you have a lot of
computer games (new and exciting ones). Engage some sort of a tournament,
and have everyone join in…soon they'll be too immersed in their games
to take any notice of you at all.
Also remember
to keep a good supply of chocolates and goodies to ensure that they
are kept occupied always, either with food or with games. Try interesting
(and semi-forbidden stuff) like planchett, and they'll be too busy
worrying about getting caught. Yet, if in spite of all your effort,
they still keep retruning for their Eideis then you have simply one
option left: Run!
