Eid 2022: Open house with sewai and kebab

City geared up on spotting the crescent moon that marks the onset of celebrations of Eid-ul-Fitr. A festival of thanksgiving, the day brings an end to the holy month of fasting, Ramzan. And after a long drawn hot April, some of the popular personalities in the city share their plans to spend the day revelling with friends, family and food.

‘Hum sabko mohabbat aur bhai chaare ki zarurat hai’

For Kathak exponent Rani Khanam, Eid is an occasion to give back to the society. Hoping this Eid will be better than the last two years, of the pandemic, she says: “Iss baar toh lagta hain Eid achi manni chahiye kyunki do saal se toh ho nahin paayi. Iss baar zoron shoron se Eid manaye, gale lagaye. Hum sabhi ko mohabbat aur bhai chaare ki zarurat hai. Is din par hum namaz padte hain, ghar ki safai karte hain, aur jo zarurat mand hain unki needs ko pura karte hain. Ghar ke male members jab namaz padke aate hain toh unhe sewaiyan khilate hain doodh mein bani hui. Uske baad aur sewai, sheermal banate hain. Log milne ayenge, duayein denge, aur gile shikve bhool ke sab sath baithenge. Chhoton ko salaam dua aur Eidi denge.”

‘Cooking copious amounts of food!’

Writer-literary historian Rakhshanda Jalil, shares how Eid over the last two years has been mostly spent in isolation. “With the work gradually and cautiously righting itself, the raunaq is returning to our festivals too. This year, we hope the old chahal-pahal will be back. We have an open house on Eid. Our friends and even our daughters’ friends know that no invitation is needed. So I’m gearing up to cook copious amounts of food. My daughters went in the night to get mehendi applied on their hands, and new clothes have been bought, too. It looks like it’s going to be a full house!”

‘Morning namaz is the most important’

Author Rana Safvi shares: “Though we cook sewai, biryani and qorma, it’s the morning Eid namaz that’s the most important feature of the day. We will only offer our Eid namaz and the immediate family will gather to offer thanks to Allah for his mercy as opposed to the open house we kept (earlier, where) every year all our friends would come home.”

‘Eid is to give’

Musician-sitarist Shujaat Khan, who will be celebrating Eid in Delhi, shares how the occasion brings together his family and friends. And of course sewai and shami kebab play a major role, too! “Family and close friends will come together for a celebration of the month gone by and will be looking forward to the next year. A very important part of Eid is to give; find people around you who are poor or don’t have clothes. There a lot of people we could help. Over the last couple of years, instead of throwing huge parties, something we have started enjoying is finding people to help medically and physically. That’s my plan for this Eid as well,” he says.

‘Embrace each other with love’

Sarod player Ayaan Ali Bangash, who is gearing up for celebrating the festival with family, says, “I hope and pray that the occasion of Eid keeps us all united through love and compassion. We hope for the day when all humans will stand shoulder to shoulder with each other with compassion for all and shout out loud that we are one. Then and only then will it be a mubarak Eid. This is the day we embrace each other with love and all that is good inside of us. Let us pray that this feeling in our embrace expands to all humanity without exceptions. I will be with family which is always a blessing!

‘Eid with mommy dear in Delhi’

Actor and dastango Danish Husain, who is in Delhi to celebrate the festival, says, “After a month of fasting, forgiveness, and charity, one only wishes an Eid for everyone where we can have some empathy, love, peace, respite from heat, and an acknowledgment of human dignity. I have taken three to four days off to spend the Eid with mommy dear in Delhi. As usual, it will be a day of prayers, charity, and receiving guests at home for some mouth-watering sewai.”

Author tweets @Nainaarora

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