The city will be bathed in the colours and aroma of Eid, with Muslims coming out in their finest as sheer-khurma simmers in each of their homes to commemorate the end of Ramzaan. Eid-ul-Fitr literally means ‘festival of breaking the fast’ and also celebrates the first date of Shawwal, that is, the tenth month of the Hijra calendar. It is symbolic to a reward as it marks the end of a month long of keeping roza (fasting) and also abstaining for all evil and unlawful practices of Islam. This period of Ramzan carries with it moral connotations, as people tend to be grateful for what they have and it instils in them a sense of responsibility. SalvaKazi, a strong believer says, “For me, Ramzan is a very sacred month, a time for sincere devotion, forgiveness and charity. Therefore, when it ends I do feel a little sad because no matter how hard you try we get so lost in our hectic lives that we forget to give thanks, be grateful and praise our creator.”
The festival of Eid awakens with the sunrise, as the followers of Islam pray namaz at masjids (mosques) to keep within the spirit of this holy month. After offering prayers, greetings and good wishes are exchanged in return for just a warm embrace. Delicious food and drinks are an indispensable part of the festivity. “The most important one is sheer-khurma! The sweetest and tastiest delicacy. It’s even more exciting distributing it to our neighbours and friends and to watch them light up when they receive it as they wish you ‘Eid Mubarak’. This festival spreads happiness not only to us but everyone who gets to have a sip of my mother’s sheer-khurma,” smiles Taizun Partapurwala. The inherent spirit of Eid-ul-Fitr is that of brotherhood and solidarity and caring for others, Ashraf Contractor explains, “On this day we wear new clothes, offer Namaz, prepare traditional food items and meet and greet friends. I meet people to celebrate and spread the meaning of brotherhood. On this day we believe in charity also. The charity can be either cash or even foodstuff or clothes or in any form the donor prefers.”
The festival of Eid is brought in by the Bohris according to their calendar while the rest of the Muslims ring it in on a full moon. Other than the dates varying, the rituals and sentiments of the celebratory day stay the same. No matter how it is celebrated or by which generation, Eid brings people together. This was echoed in the words of Razi Faquih and Omer Zubairy, both belonging to different generations, Omer says, “Eid is a big celebration in which everyone is involved, from visiting elders to having a family get together,” as Razi Faquih believes the same. This holds true even across continents, as Huda Merchant who has been part of Eid celebrations in Saudi and India, “Eid has always been about togetherness. Whether that’s with your friends or family. In Saudi, every Eid you could go to the mosque, and get together with the community from your area and everyone’s literally just smiling, sharing sweets and celebrating togetherness. In India, because I was a student it was more about getting together with friends- Muslim or Non-Muslim. Every year we’d have a special Eid lunch with my family together. So basically, even though it is the celebration of being able to spend a complete Ramzaan it is also more of getting together with your people and your community and finding happiness in that togetherness.”
Some of the exciting traditions of Eid which make the kids enthusiastically look forward to this day is the joy of buying new clothes to wear on this occasion. The excitement increases as family members come to visit as children are awarded with Eidi (certain amount of money) for fasting and as a mark of happiness.
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