Breakfast over, the table would be re-loaded for the guests. Before they returned, breakfast would be laid out- roghni roti, kebab, sheer khorma and kimami sewai.
The whole house would be fragrant with the smell of “Jannat-ul-Firdaus”, a fragrance I still associate with Eid.īy eight o’clock, my father and brother would set-off for the Idgaah (congregational prayer ground) for Eid prayer. The silver itardaan (perfume case) always occupied the pride of place at the entrance and itar (perfume) was the first thing offered to guests on Eid. The author and her family, sometime in the mid-2000sĮid mornings started with a flurry of activity-the house had to be spruced up with festive table linen, ceremonial silverware and shiny cutlery. We didn’t want to wait even one more day!įor Ammi, chaand raat would mean working late into the night, preparing for the tons of kebab, sewai and biryani that guests had to be served the next day-her body frail with the month-long fasting, but her spirit ever so high. In case it couldn’t be sighted, Abba would tune into All India Radio, as soon as we got back, to find out if the moon had been sighted elsewhere to signal Eid celebrations the next day. We would rush home to give Ammi the good news, “ Chaand ho gaya, kal eid hai!” (The moon is out it is Eid tomorrow!). At sunset, my brother and I would drag Abba (our father) to the vantage point on the hillock nearby, from where the beautiful sliver of the crescent moon could be seen. The evening before Eid, when the moon was sighted had a special aura. Eid shopping would mean several trips to the market and how we loved it.įrom the age of 9 or 10, my brother and I fasted on weekends and holidays because it had its own reward-“Don’t say anything to this kid, she is fasting”-you could be as naughty as you wanted and get away with it! The boys in the family would, of course, go in for pristine white mul-mul kurta-pyjama with a crisp do-palli topi to match. Arm-twisting Ammi (our mother) to buy me cham-cham (blingy) gharara and kum-kuma churi (clanking golden glass bangles) was such joy. The excitement of Eid would start mid-Ramzan, when we started exchanging notes with cousins and friends on what clothes to get. My mind is racing down memory lane to the cheerful Eids, which we, as kids, waited the whole year for. Such an Eid would have been inconceivable any other year. Muslims across the world will offer their Eid prayer at home and share a modest meal with just the family. There will be no congregational Eid prayer, no customary hugs or celebratory Eid-milans. This is such a human experience, composed at a time when human experiences weren’t chief among the aims of most Baroque composer composers.Image used for representative purposes onlyįor most of us, this Eid will be truly exceptional.
There are biblical proclamations of impending apocalypse littered throughout, and for each of them, Bach works in some sort of crushing atonality or strange chord, as if he’s wincing with pain each time it happens. If you thought that Baroque music mostly dealt with plinky-plinky harpsichords, the St Matthew Passion will change mind. secundum Evangelistam Matthæum (the ‘J.C.’ stands for Jesus Christ, which is maybe a bit familiar for someone he hadn’t met… but we’ll let him off). The original title is Passio Domini nostri J.C. It’s one of two ‘Passion’ oratorios that have survived since Bach died (he could’ve written up to five), but it’s also become one of his most celebrated pieces. Read more: 30 greatest classical composers of all time Needless to say, each of these examples should be digested in a single sitting. Here are the 10 major works we recommend you devote some time to.
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