Eid days!!

So, there was a bit of confusion last night because we were first told that Eid would be on Thursday – which put me in an incredibly foul mood as fasting for one more day would – but, then got told it would be Wednesday. Randomness aside, I'm glad this happened.

My host's best bud visited last night and she put mehndi (henna) on both my arms and both sides of my hands. She has some serious skills and I couldn't help but wonder how much talent there was floating around. I mean, other than the artistry of the mehndi, everyone makes and designs their own clothes (another contributing factor for the busyness of Eid), cuts their own hair, deals with their own electricity/plumbing problems and builds their own houses!! Granted, it's because these services are not easily available and not always to the standard we in the UK would be satisfied with, but skills none-the-less! So, last night my sleep was a bit 'crumby' to say the least because of the mehndi drying on my hands overnight.

Unfortunately, a lie-in wasn't going to happen on Eid day as everyone was up and running by 6am!! That's one thing about Pakistani culture I like: It's a very 'early to bed, early to rise'. That said, sleep is something I do feel a bit deprived of recently because of Ramadan. Hopefully, an end has been put to all that for another 11 months or so.

Eid was really fun. Everyone was in good spirits, looking good and there was food everywhere!! You can't argue with that. I looked properly Kashmiri I was told (not sure what that means exactly, but it involved predicting marriage proposals). The day was filled with lots of visits from family and friends, and Eidi (Eid gifts/money) was given to the children. I even got Eidi and made 300r!! Sa-weet.

While sitting there and taking part in the festivities, it occurred to me that this is the first proper Eid I've really had. Back home, it's nothing like this: new clothes, new hair style, extensive visiting and Eidi-giving. If Eid falls on a work day, people typically take annual leave for the morning at least and visiting relatives doesn't happen so readily – not in my experience anyway. I suspect the differences in Eid celebrations are a combination of the UK not being a Muslim country and family being more friendly in Pakistan. I must say, it's worth emigrating to a Muslim country just for Eid.

That said, Muslim hospitality became a bit of a burden. Every household you visited offered food… and sadly, the same food: kheer (rice pudding), chana chaat (chickpea/veg mix), fruit chaat (spicy fruit salad) and mitaai (Indian sweets). So, as the day went by, it became harder to eat people's offerings. But, it's really rude not to eat anything. Given that hardly anyone drank mineral water, I was stuck with the heavier foods. Needless to say, Day 2 was managed a lot better.

And lo-and-behold, that Kashmiri look I was apparently pulling off so well did result in a few interested parties, including a young man who is studying to become a molbie (religious figure)! Thanks, but no thanks!!