|
Experience
A Morning Worth Waiting For
Naziba Basher
As exciting as the actual day of Eid is, a particular time in the morning is what it is all about to a lot of people. Students from all over celebrating Eid would agree that the actual memories of Eid are created during the morning - when the Eid namaaz (prayer) is performed along with loved ones.
With sudden mouth-watering whiffs of our moms' culinary creations, on the night before Eid, all the youngsters are found fixing up their clothes for the next day, putting mehendi on each other's hands, and making plans with friends over the phone all night for the next morning.
The boys, and sometimes even the girls who are keen on praying with their friends and family inside a mosque and also find it possible in their area to do so, usually call one friend after the other to fix up a time to meet early in the morning so that they can catch the Eid namaaz together.
All set for the namaaz! Photo: Kazi Tahsin Agaz Apurbo
Anowar Hossain Shabuz, an event co-ordinator shares his experiences with the Eid namaaz during his University days. He says, "More than Eid, we would mostly be excited about the Eid namaaz. We would get dressed in our finest clothes from our three day wardrobe for Eid to show off to our friends while going for Eid prayer together. While a lot of the young ones pray in the mosques, many of them like to go to the 'Eidgah maat'-- a field that is especially used for Eid prayers and one that is available in every area. "As soon as the mosque declared the time for the namaaz, we would usually know when and where to meet even if we could not call each other to fix the time," shares Shabuz.
For many, it is a valuable time spent with friends and for others, it is a time to make unforgettable memories with family. "I have always followed the tradition of going to my grandfather's place in the morning. My uncles, cousins, grandfather, father and I would go to pray together after that. We have always followed Eid namaaz as a tradition," says Abrar Hasan from Ibrahim Medical College.
The joy of meeting all your loved ones on a particular day is always something that is cherished by most young people and the meeting for Eid prayer is a perfect time for that kind of get together. Abrar adds, "I suppose you could say that IS Eid for me. Going to a prayer is like opening the gate to the most amazing feeling. It feels great to be conducting that ritual with your close ones."
As Eid closes in on us, we prepare ourselves for the big day with new clothes, shoes and mehendi; as all youngsters prepare themselves with family and friends, for a moment they can cherish not only with the Almighty...but with each other.
|
