Between the two Eids, I used to have more fun with Eid-Ul-Adha. Muslims commemorate this ultimate act of sacrifice every year during Eid-Ul-Adha.
“I am a born Dhakaiya and there’s been a lot of changes in the last 15-20 years in every which way. Dhaka was a large town, a clean environment with wide open spaces. There were no high walls and you could even see into the lawns of most houses from outside. And most importantly we could enjoy roaming the huge open spaces along with the Eid.
There used to be a lot of congregation with family and friends. Not just one day, but for 3 or 4 days during Eid. Back then Eid was celebrated for almost a week. Although we saw our relatives and friends very often unlike nowadays, it was still wonderful to meet up with them during Eid holidays.
I’m talking about my childhood in the 60s. Back then, there were so few cars that I could go for a rickshaw ride from Dhanmondi to Motijheel within 10 minutes. Buses were also very few in number. The primary form of recreation was visiting friends and family. And it was much easier to get from one end of Dhaka to another as there wasn’t any traffic. One more thing that I’d have to mention is that we really prepared for Eid. The preparation of buying Eid clothes was totally different. All the men would wear white Panjabis, even I would prefer to wear white Panjabi. Kishti tupis were famous during that time. Nowadays, the Eid day attire has become very different, with cultural influences from many different places.
Adda was a big part of my Eid. I loved to spend time with my friends. We’d spend the hours and hours just talking and eating traditional food, which was Mughlai. Eid day food was also different back them. Mughlai was the main cuisine, unlike the popular and exotic cuisines of today.
I remember back in those days everybody would go to the cinema halls and watch movies on the occasion of Eid. People liked to watch Hindi and Bengali movies and there was no television channels in the subcontinent. So, people liked to meet with friends and family as part of the festivities instead of being glued to the screen.”
