25th Ramadan. Shanaya’s Story
Shanaya had just landed in the airport. Her flight from Los Angeles had departed on time and landed a bit earlier than expected. Her parents were very excited to be back among family and Shanaya herself was excited as well. She had last visited Bangladesh 8 years back, when she was an 8 year old little girl. She remembers Bangladesh from her last visit, but she is looking forward to enjoying Eid in Bangladesh for the very first time. She waited in the immigration line anticipating her first meeting with all her relatives after eight years…
The moment Shanaya reached her dadu’s home in Baridhara, 2 hours before iftar, she was enthusiastically greeted by all her relatives. Her dadu, 2 chachis and her only khala gave her Eid gifts on that very day. Dadu gave her 30,000 taka, her chachis gave her some beautiful dresses designed from renowned boutiques and her khala gave her a gold bracelet. Dadu was in her 60s now, so these days she didn’t go out much for shopping anymore. But she gave the responsibility to Shanaya’s eldest chachi and cousin Tania to take Shanaya to one of the best boutiques the next day and get` her an eid dress. Dadu’s order was to get the most beautiful dress for Shanaya and if she happened to like more than one dress, then she was to be brought those as well, as a token of Eid gift from dadu. Everyone was very happy to have Shanaya and her parents among them after so many years during Eid.
At iftar time, Shanaya was overwhelmed seeing the number of items on the dining table. Her dadu and chachis had arranged a spectacular feast on the occasion of their arrival. There were items from every kind of cuisine on the table. There was peyaju and beguni for Shanaya’s dad, there was haleem and dahi bara for Shanaya’s mom, there was lasagna and pizza for Shanaya, and there were a number of dessert items on the dessert counter. There was so much food that it was quite impossible to even have a taste of each item.
After the massive feast, Shanaya crashed into her soft bed. She was sleeping with her cousin Tania. Other cousins had left for their own homes but would return the next day to go shopping together. They had packed plans for shopping before Eid and they would also go to have iftar in several restaurants for the next three days. Fun times were ahead for the cousins. Tania even mentioned the main attraction of Eid day. They would get eidi from everyone and as this was Shanaya’s first Eid in Bangladesh after so many years. Tania said that Shanaya would probably receive eidi worth thousands of taka from dadu and everyone else. Shanaya got very excited and started converting the amount into dollars and kept on thinking what she could buy with that money….
25th Ramadan, Suraiyya’s Story
It was 2 hours before iftar time and 10 year old Suraiyya was waiting at Gushan 1 signal to sell the last few pieces of balloons. The heat had been intense; her sweat soaked clothes were sticking to her back by now and there were blisters on her bare feet. Her mother was supposed to return after work as a part time maid when iftar was over. Mother was probably helping to prepare yummy iftar for the rich family residing in Baridhara. She had heard from her mother that there was a feast in that house today so her mother had promised to bring some leftover food for Suraiyya and her 4 year old brother. That meant that today Suraiyya wouldn’t have to spend her meager earnings to buy iftar. She decided to drink some water from the roadside tap and wait for her mother to return with food. She could save this money and try to buy a new shirt for her younger brother as an Eid gift. Her own dress was torn, but her brother’s shirt was in an even worse state, so she decided to buy new clothes for her younger brother instead of her own.
Suraiyya was feeling quite light headed by 8 pm – that’s when her mother returned. She had brought 2 parathas and 2 pieces of chicken for her two children. No, her mother never steals. She brought what was given to her by the head of staff in that huge house. He was a good man – he distributed leftover food among the staff members. The owners were good people as well – they did not mind this.
Suraiyya and her little brother Jalil had a wonderful dinner with one hard paratha and a piece of cold chicken each – their only meal of the day. They would drink some water and have some muri for seheri and that would be fine. The day had passed well, Alhamdulillah.
Eid Day
Suraiyya’s mother had to go to work in the morning because there was another feast taking place in the big house in honor of the beautiful girl Shanaya and her parents. She took her children Suraiyya and Jalil along with her because the head of staff had told her that the children would receive Eid breakfast if they came over. Suraiyya and Jalil entered such a massive house for the very first time in their lives. There was a huge wrought iron gate, followed by a sprawling green lawn and a big three storied white house stood at the end.
Suraiyya and Jalil were speechless at witnessing such splendor. They couldn’t say a word and sat quietly beside the guardroom at the end of the lawn – where they had been served a wonderful Eid breakfast – a plate of tehari and firni.
Shanaya had been up since 7 am to get ready with her cousins. They wore their expensive dresses and jewelry and went down to the breakfast table. The breakfast spread on Eid day was nothing less than a five star buffet. There were at least 25 different items on the table. Everyone was having food and making merry but the main attraction was the eidi part.
Shanaya quickly lost count of how much money she received as eidi. Shanaya was so stuffed with food that she couldn’t walk anymore. All this was very new for her. Yes, they did have Eid parties in Los Angeles and there would be food and expensive dresses alright, but here, things were a bit too much according to Shanaya. She really wasn’t used to making so much fuss and spending so much money on Eid.
The breeze in the lawn was very nice and she was walking unmindfully when she spotted two young children having a small plate of food sitting on the floor at the end of the lawn. The boy was wearing a filthy pair of pants but a new shirt and a dirty pair of sandals. The girl was barefoot and was wearing an old, patched frock. She looked down at her designer kameez and new high heels and looked back at those two little children.
She slowly walked forward and stood before them.
“Who are they?” Shanaya asked the guard.
“They are the part time maid’s children, they are having their Eid breakfast here,” replied the security guard.
Shanaya looked at their plates – some tehari and firni. She was having difficulty breathing – she didn’t understand why. Was it because of the excessively large Eid breakfast that she had just had?
“What is your name?” asked Shanaya.
“Suraiyya.”
“Don’t you have a clean dress?”
“I have only one other dress which is wet. I wanted to buy a new one for Eid but I couldn’t save enough money. I managed to buy a new shirt for Jalil. But mother said she will in sha Allah buy me a new frock and a pair of sandals for Qurbani Eid,” smiled 10 year old Suraiyya.
Shanaya turned and went back to her room without another word. She sat on the bed while tears poured down her cheeks.
Just before coming to Bangladesh, they had organized a fundraising event at her school to help orphans in America. She was a member of social services club in the high school and an active worker for human rights and equality.
And here, under her nose, a ten year old girl was sitting in torn clothes, eating tehari, while she was stuffing her stomach with 25 items, wearing designer kameez!
Forget equality and human rights, forget about social services; is THIS the spirit of Ramadan? Can this be the spirit of Ramadan? What about perseverance and sympathy? What about being kind to the underprivileged? What about pleasing Allah?
Is Ramadan all about dresses, food and eidi? Does the month of Ramadan return just to give the rich the chance to indulge more into luscious food and the trendiest of clothes?
She stood up quietly and opened her purse where she had kept her eidi. She took out some notes and went back to Suraiyya.
Suraiyya’s mother was done and was about to leave with her children when she heard Shanaya call her from behind. Shanaya handed her 10,000 taka and asked her to get some proper clothes and food for her children. Suraiyya’s mother couldn’t speak. She just thought that after her husband left her 3 months back, she had to sleep under the open sky with her two children. She felt that she could now buy some plastic at least to protect them from the rain and heat. She could probably buy Shanaya a new dress and a pair of slippers and buy some food for her children. This 10,000 taka felt like a king’s wealth. She couldn’t thank Shanaya – she couldn’t say anything. A few drops of tears fell from her pained eyes.
Shanaya turned away with her face towards the sky – with her eyes moist and a slight smile on her lips. She thanked Allah for giving her the opportunity and begged Him to accept it from her. Finally, she felt like it was Eid.
