The Grinch and the Spirit of Eid

The Grinch and the Spirit of Eid

By Le Chupacabra

Waking up that early in the morning is bad enough... but waking up to take a freezing cold shower?

Insanity is the word.

I mean, sure, you wait for an entire month (give or take a day) for that very occasion. Expensive clothes are purchased, tantalising dishes are made and stocked away in the fridge and wallets/purses are emptied for the influx of more green stuff. Yeah, that's right. It's none other than Eid-ul-Fitr.

Not to insult the religion or anyone, sometimes one thinks that as time goes on even a simple, enjoyable occasion like this can get bogged down with too many... um... attachments. That begs the question: are there too many strings attached in order to make Eid-ul-Fitr a truly joyous celebration?

Firstly, there's the unnecessary task of visiting various tailors and seamstresses all for the purpose of having them craft seven to eight pieces of overtly extravagant apparel that one will don only for a day or two. Okay, maybe they will garb themselves in those very vestments once all memory on the part of others has faded, but by that time, they'll have amassed yet another wardrobe of items. Sort of defeats the purpose, doesn't it?

Of course, there are also the pre-Eid preparations that go on for three to four nights prior to the occasion. Sweet delectables of innumerable colours and shapes are everywhere in the kitchen and recall descriptions from ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. Yet sadly, the bulk of these end up un-devoured and are relegated to becoming tea-time snacks long after Eid has passed. Mountains of pulao, biriyani and ritualistic accompaniments such as roasts, thick daal and other items are cooked to perfection and gloriously laid out in the finest platters available. Hey, I wouldn't dream of complaining about this! But thinking from the perspective of the mothers (and domestic staff) who toil away till 2AM at night, I don't think it's a very enjoyable thing. It certainly looks great, smells great and it sure as hell tastes fantastic, but after you've spent so long being bombarded with the same aroma for hours, the palatability is certainly lower for them. Plus, the fact is our moms set aside their daily activities to channel their energies in order to work like maniacs so that others can eat happily the next day. Routine? Yes, but it's also unnecessarily tiring methinks. All that work for one single day?

Then there's the whole task of Eidis. Normally I don't mind what I get, but I've seen the little ones look utterly depressed when a single, crisp 500Tk note is lovingly given to them. Yeah, at one time, the kids were bothered about how many notes they got regardless of monetary value, but with these new, cheeky little monkeys, it seems they've figured out the art of value. It's funny albeit annoying to see an 8-year old moping in a corner on glorious Eid day just because his Eidi haul was unsatisfactory. What happened to just enjoying Eid for the heck of it?

Going back to the first sentence, there are my personal qualms as well: the hours just before the Imam breaks the ice by announcing Eid. Waking up early in the morning is not my forte, and when there's a free, icy cold shower offer attached to the deal, it's doubly annoying. Personally, I hate the payjama-panjabi dress combination: it’s just bloody annoying. Having to wrestle myself into a pair while being half-asleep is none too enjoyable an experience. Since the mosque we go to commences the prayers before the others, we need to get there fast and early. I still wonder if I’ve said the niyaat right for the past few years since I was usually drowsing off most of the time.

Having said all that, I once again thought of the question I asked: are there too many strings attached in order to make Eid-ul-Fitr a truly joyous celebration? Maybe so. However, once you get home from the mosque and come home to spend the rest of the day eating, drinking, laughing and generally having a truly enjoyable time with your friends and family, you realise all those niggles and annoyances are just insubstantial. So the true answer to that question is a resounding and heartfelt ‘NO!’ because in the end, Eid’s all about the love, innit?

So for all of you people out there… Eid grumblers included…

Eid Mubarak!