We are Pakistanis, but we are also Sindhis, Memons, Hyderabadis or Bengalis, making up a culturally diverse population. That is why we all have our unique ways of celebrating Eid.
Colours of Eid
We are Pakistanis, but we are also Sindhis, Memons, Hyderabadis or Bengalis, making up a culturally diverse population. That is why we all have our unique ways of celebrating Eid. People from different socio-ethnic groups share with Us how differently they celebrate Eid, what special food they enjoy and what Eid memories they still cherish. There might be differences in how we express our happiness, but we all share the same spirit of Eid.
Amjad Zaki, Bengali
My Eid is very simple. I wake up, pray, have some tea and gobble down some dates and sit down to send Eid greetings to my relative and friends. I also help my mother and sister in preparing savayan and chicken sandwiches and then we three sit down together and eat. At this time, I feel sad thinking of my beloved father who died a couple of years back. Rest of the day is spent talking to the relatives living abroad.
There are two delicacies that we cook on Eid. One is bengali rasgollas - cottage cheese slowly cooked in milk and sugar syrup - which is different from the rasgollas we have here in Pakistan. The other yum food, which is not usually cooked on Eid, is a spicy and tangy tomato fish curry.
Eid evokes memories of nana abu, dressed up in a white crisp kurta, sitting in the veranda giving eidi to his grandchildren with a wide grin on his face. After Eid prayers, we used to gather at our grandparents’ home and arrange a one-dish party. Eid is fun when you are with your beloved. Now, nana abu is in Bangladesh and he says there is nothing better than living where you belong, so I can’t even convince him to permanently shift over here with us. When it’s Eid, I really miss him and all those lovely family get-togethers.
Amna, Sindhi
Being a neat freak, I see Eid as a day when the house shines like a star. When I wake up on Eid, I get on with cleaning the house and preparing food. Then, I slip into my Eid dress and visit some of my friends in the neighbourhood. On the second day, we usually have guests and on the third day of Eid, I visit my sisters; one of my sisters has recently come from Iraq for Eid, so this Eid will be extra special.
There can be nothing as good as eating a plate full of that rich and spicy sindhi biryani on Eid. For the sweet tooths, I make two special desserts. One is like cooking dried dates in milk until the dates are tender and milk turns purple. The other is carrot kheer which is my family recipe and I make around ten bowls for the occasion.
There are so many memories that I still cherish. Oh, I cannot express how much I loved making Eid cards in Sindhi language as a child! And when I started teaching Sindhi, I encouraged my students to make Eid cards using Sindhi language - learning the language and having fun at the same time. These days, Eid dresses are very simple. We feel comfortable with cotton or lawn fabric with not much glitter or details. It really makes me laugh when I reminisce about how much I used to freak over embellishing my Eid dress with glittering laces, beads and stars and I always wanted my dress to be the prettiest. But now, I want my Eid dress to be the simplest.
Saba, Memon (Bantva)
I remain very busy on all the three the days of Eid. For me, celebrating Eid is getting together with relatives and friends. I start my day with Eid prayers and exchange of warm greetings.
Then comes our Eid breakfast: sweet and milky sheer khurma and crisp puri and heavenly halwa are everybody’s favourite food for the occasion. For lunch, our hot favourite delicacy is biryani.
After that, relatives come to meet us, all the in-laws, their brothers and sisters and their children. Then, I visit my sister-in-law and my husband’s grandmother and if I am left with some time, I go see my maternal relatives. As per the tradition, I spend the second day of Eid with my mother and siblings and on the third day of Eid, my sister-in-law comes to spend time with us. We share smiles, stories and food with each other, this is what Eid is all about.
Kanza Khalid, Punjabi
When all our relatives live out of town, Eid can’t be fun. We shop entusiastically and make yummy food for this day. Being part of the naval force, we get a chance to attend a get-together of naval officers and their families on the first day of Eid. The party starts off at 8 a.m. in the morning, which is surprisingly an odd time to have a party. But I think it is a beautiful start to a beautiful day. It is crazy to dress up gorgeously in early hours of the morning to meet up some of your old school and college friends and eat some delicious halwa puri and scrumptious roasted chicken with them. It really feels like Eid when you see people talking, hugging, chuckling and sharing food with each other.
Samina Farhat, Hyderabadi
My entire clan lives in India, but now I have also made some great friends over here. I celebrate Eid with them and make some wonderful memories. I just spend Eid cooking tasty hyderabadi food which is loved by my neighbours and friends. I believe it with all my heart that food really brings people together and help sharing happiness. From the extravagant hyderabadi cuisine, I make Double ka meetha (a dessert made with bread and milk), mirch curry, dum ka qeema, baghare baigan (Coconut and eggplant curry) and some spicy hyderabad biryani. We also love to eat pan after the meals (only special occasions).
I also ‘mastermind’ Eid milan parties. It’s just another way of celebrating Eid with your friends in an economical way. It’s not quite possible for everybody to throw a party all on their own, so we can work as a team and have a simple and fun packed party. Everybody prepares some special food and reach the venue to share it with others. I attend around five to six such parties for which some people criticize me. Anyway, I don’t mind and will keep the tradition alive.
When I dive into my past, I see a house in Hyderabad Deccan packed with people: women dashing around the house with tea, sweets and kheer, children frolicking and elders talking. My father used to come home to spend Eid with us as he remained away due to his work requirement in the railway department. Eid was truly special for me because my father returned home to share some thought provoking stories about trains and tracks. I used to wonder if I could stop the time and remain in the Eid mode forever.
Nadia Baig, Gilgiti
Our Eid celebrations begin right after the sighting of the moon. After Eid prayers, we enjoy vermicelli. Later, we send sweets and eidi to our neighbours, meet our relatives and exchange gifts.
On Eid, my mom prepares a traditional deep fried patty known as arzok for breakfast and we eat it along with desi butter and drink chai. We also make giyaling (pancakes made of whole wheat and baked on girdle and soaked in butter) which is a typically cooked in Gilgit. For lunch and dinner, we prepare mutton, chicken handi, biryani and chaat.
All the Eids spent with my family are memorable. The best Eid was when I went to Gilgit to attend the wedding of my cousin.
Rabail Khan, Rajput
On chandrat, our celebrations begin. Women get busy with cleaning and cooking. For us, applying mehndi is a must as without it Eid seems incomplete. Sheer is the special dish on our Eid menu.
It has become a sort of tradition that women in the house wake up early on Eid and prepare breakfast before all the men of the house return from Eid prayers. We have a family get-together where we meet our cousins and greet our taya, who is the eldest in the family. He showers us with prayers and gives us eidi. The entire Eid is spent with cousins and relatives.
