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Little details are what go in to making a festival special and those are very things that we look forward to the next Eid. Eid-ul-Fitr is an occasion one always associates with late night shopping, lots of sawaiyyan(sweet vermicelli) and clinking bangles that must be matched to the exact shade of the dusty pink or tea leaf green jora.
We live in a city where entertainment and activity is marred by the fear of security. But as the month of abstinence tapers to its long awaited end, the inhabitants of this metropolis let go and head out to shop, celebrate and just inhale the buzz that seems to be circulating all around. From the meena bazaar like scenario at the numerous shops dotting Zamzama Boulevard and Tariq Road to the strands of fairy lights festooned around otherwise drab looking buildings, the mood is infectious to say the least.
As you step out at night it often seems as if the predominant group is the kiddie category. The sanctimonious appeals of "do baache hi achee" seems to have been rejected by the masses as several couples with their four children are found riding on motorcycles. There goes a a harassed looking father, dragged in to the conveniently located Mc Donald's next to Gulfway Shopping Mall as his wife with four sisters in tow haggle with the numerous bangle shop owners demanding their share of the ornaments pie.
The mehendi walis dominate the sidewalks during this period and anyone remotely female will agree that tackling and elbowing your way in to jumping the queue and getting one of them to draw intricate designs on your palm is almost reminiscent to a sport called rugby. There are many hubs for henna application, from the staircase of Uzma Arcade to Hyderi market the general conversation murmured around is 'will my henna colour be dark", "I want an Indian design". And as the teeny bopper brigade experiments with armbands and tattoos the adventure can set you back a cool hundred bucks or even more as the urgency increases and the moon on chand raat dips in to the deep of the night.
It is amazing to note how even the most well organised individual forgets to shop for a pair of shoes until the very last minute. But then again the stilettos and kitten heels in shops such as Walk Ease, Lace Up or the golden oldies like Kumfort and Modila beckon. Luring us with the charm of affordable pricing that runs from six hundred to a thousand and a colour scheme that obliges every shade of the rainbow.
These forays in to the markets are tied with strings of tradition and practise. For some segments of the Urdu speaking or the mohajir populous this venture to purchase hair accessories, shoes and bangles are made with brothers playing the gallant knight.
A family friend narrates the tale of how their daughter, the only sister of five brothers, reigns supreme during this trip bullying the younger ones in to buying her clips and causing a more significant dent to the elder's wallet. All in the name of affection! And for the rest of us the charm of bargaining and purchasing till the wee hours of morning is too great to resist. As the crispness of winter infuses itself in the air, the attraction of the upcoming holidays meshed with a choc a block full wedding season and events like Christmas proves to be a potent catalyst. -SH
Rather easy it is to get side tracked during all this as a trip for the Sheer Khurma mix to Agha's supermarket has us natives yearning for the Christmas pudding lying smugly in its box. But the classic of the year remains a recently overheard dialogue where a bride to be, following her mother on the rounds to match dupattas and shalwars, started musing "ammi this will be my last Eid with you". And the stage for this sequence was strategically in the middle of Bareeze where one had seen the girl eyeing an outfit appreciatively for the last half an hour!
Once all aspects of vanity have been settled it is time to indulge the trolley that will be brought out to feed the horde of guests on the two days of the festival. In this too, family traditions and handed down recipes are brought in. Some prefer sheer khurma and others are partial to kheer. Whatever your choice the ready to wear/eat/go syndrome is dragged in to this scheme of things as well as mithai shop owners put their best foot forward but giving their merchandise a sleek and smart finish in terms of packaging and appearance. Nirala is a pioneer in that field as their boxes depicting scenes borrowed from mughal miniatures are aesthetically one of the best ways of giving someone sweets on this occasion. Their tiny mini gulab jamuns and amrettis face little competition save from the loyalists who are only cheered by the sight of a red and yellow box hailing from Abdul Khaliq and whose contents are prepared in desi ghee. Since these are more upmarket as compared to our neighbourhood sweetmeats shop the price tag matches that of a cake purchased at one of the leading bakeries in the city. Thank heavens for the advent of independent and innovative sweet shops that sell concoctions layered with Oreo's and ice creams because the alternative is still a Black Forest cake with Eid Mubarak scripted in pink icing available at some of the leading hotels.
As the tailors speed up their machines and parking on the main road becomes mission impossible the shop keepers call out with big grins plastered on their faces reeking of contentment since business seems to be doing well. It all comes together as a bizarre collage of sights and sounds no matter how mundane or inconsequential each working to make us feel a little more happy about being close to home.
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