Sidra Khan |
For most Muslim families living in South Asia Eid is simply a twice-yearly routine which has not changed. It starts with getting up, offering prayers, hugging everyone and saying Eid Mubarak coming back home, munching and sleeping all day.
Read more:5 things that we should do differently on Eid
Hoping for a field day
Women are used to staying in the kitchen all day; cooking and washing dishes sums up their three days of Eid. Making this Eid memorable is hard work (as everyone will sleep eventually). As a traditional South Asian girl, I would prefer to have a day off from all the cooking and washing dishes and men taking over the kitchen for once (told you it was hard work).
Though convincing them to take the reins of the kitchen is next to impossible but wishing for such Eid day is not a bad idea.
Men go and meet old friends; they go on to organize BBQ Eid parties, which interestingly make them cooks for a short while. Yes, it is a case of men feasting each other. At home, brothers are spoiled by us the sisters!
Read more:Top 10 Eid-ul-Fitr dishes you should try at home
Though convincing them to take the reins of the kitchen is next to impossible but wishing for such Eid day is not a bad idea. Even if so that does not happen, having dinner in a lavish restaurant is a must on Eid (definitely I can’t make dinner now after a hard tiring day) and the choice of ordered food should be given to the women of the house in sisters and mothers (if bhabi is there she can join in too).
I am thrilled by the mere thought of eating and using up many plates without worrying to wash them, but well only if wishes were fishes.
This needs to be followed by a gaming and picnic day organized by the male members of my house but not to Murree or a hill station but to Karachi or Lahore where I, could shop and eat as much as I liked and that too without hearing “moti ho jao gi” phrase.
Read more:Come and Celebrate Eid in Delhi!
I can even imagine myself eating the yummiest mouthwatering gol gappas at the stall near roadside and later having the sizzling Sindhi biryani making my ears go boom (even witting about it is making me hungry). I am thrilled by the mere thought of eating and using up many plates without worrying to wash them, but well only if wishes were fishes.
I have to return the favor too, and that too in the end of the month). While here I am planning my ideal Eid, I just heard my mum’s voice, that I have burned the pokray’s (oh she is pissed, a lot).And there went my ideal Eid down the drain.
A movie night would be icing on the cake. It should be different though where we the ladies should sit while men in our houses should periodically serve us with tea and snacks from the kitchen. But perhaps, it is a tad too much to ask for at this stage.
Read more:The modern Eid; how and why it changed.
The biggest bonus on this Eid would be getting loads of eidi and gifts not only from family members but other relatives also. (Alas! I have to return the favour too, and that too in the end of the month). While here I am planning my ideal Eid, i just heard my mum’s voice, that I have burned the pokray’s (oh she is pis*ed, a lot). And there went my ideal Eid down the drain.
My Eid, this time, was also typical just like those of other ladies in the country and the region. But we will have our day too.
Sidra Khan is International Relations MPhil Scholar and currently Lecturer at NUML university. Her area of expertise is South Asian Politics and Western Hemisphere. She has also worked at the ISSRA and SVI think tanks based in Islamabad. She tweets @sidrakhan824. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Global Village Space’s editorial policy.