Eid Mubarak!
Oh! I had one of the nicest holidays ever!
On 31st of October I went to Dinaspur with one of my colleague, where I stayed for 2 days. Plus ten hours train journey there and nine hours bus journey back. 5 km long Jamuna Bridge full of lights in the darkness was definitely worth to be waken up at 3 am, Ram Sagor (park) and ancient hindu temple were very pleasant too. But the highlight of the journey for me was surely seeing how a marriage is actually being arranged. Starting from the moment when parents make a phone call to their son saying that they have found a girl for him, hearing and seeing how both families get to know each other thru several visits to each other’s houses, finally being there when the groom-to-be sees the pride-to-be for the first time in a sharee shop and listening to the discussions on the possibility of the marriage in the family. It was very exciting! And though I myself could never accept my parents’ choice without actually knowing my husband-to-be, I was truly glad when receiving a phone call saying that it has been decided that my colleague gets married. Cos when one believes that this is the way it works, it will really work! The time from the phone-call to the engagement was 1 month. Another month will pass in preparations before the wedding takes place. Hopefully I will be the witnessing this final stage - the wedding itself.
The second half of the holiday was all full of Eid. Along with that meeting many new people, visiting many homes, eating a lot of nice food, spending a very good time with friends etc. I’m thankful to Rajon who took me to his home and where I almost felt as a family member. In order to get a true Eid feeling being with a family is a must.
The day before Eid is crazy for everyone. This is because nobody knows exactly when the exact Eid day is. It depends on whether the moon is seen or not. As 3rd of November was cloudless and moon was seen at around 6 pm, it was sure that Eid-ul-Fitr will be the next day. What a busy night started! It’s normal to do shopping on the markets at 11 pm, face traffic jams at midnight, go to the tailor 2 am and of course do cooking all night long.
The first thing in the morning is a special prayer outside on the fields and mosques at 8 am. After that the day is full of visiting relatives and friends. Normally the eldest person in the family is the one where all the relatives are going. That explanation answered my question “How do people know that the people they want to visit are actually at home and not out to visit somebody else?” And I believe it is not only all the new clothes that people are wearing (men punjabis and women sharees) that make them look extremely handsome and beautiful, but the true festival feeling that goes on for several days in a row.
I myself spent half of the day staying in the family and the second half going to others’ houses. From time to time it can be a really challenging task, cos everywhere one goes, s/he is supposed to eat all good food. And there’s lots of it! Besides, it also requires quite a planning to be able to accept all the invitations. During two days I went to at least 7 homes. Plus two more two days later. And I’m sure I messed up with counting..
So that was my first ever Eid. Eid Mubarak (Happy Eid)! Thank you all who made so very special for me! Now can’t wait to see another Eid in January, when every family will be sacrificing a cow.
