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LINES WRITTEN ON THE FESTIVAL OF EIDUL FITR
This Eidul Fitr -- the festival of Muslims,
Which comes after the holy fasting Ramadan month,
Just came and went away...
It was just like a ceremony being fulfilled,
Totally unlike a festival which spreads joy,
Warmth of love, care, friendliness and adds,
So much more to the heart's pleasure-seeking beats.
Not more than thirty years ago,
I remember the Eidul Fitr, when,
We would all rise up at dawn, bathe,
Wear new clothes and go to the mosques,
Me and my brother, along with our father.
While mother and sister prayed at home.
They not only prayed but they were also filled,
With the joy of exuberance, the thrill of the festival,
The preparation of sweets and special cuisine,
To entertain our relatives and close family friends,
As well as give something to the poor ones,
Who could also share the joys of Eid with us.
We would all come from the mosque,
Embrace each other and the fun would start,
Playing, listening to music, watching television,
Entertaining neighbours and all those who came,
To visit us on the occasion...while we too would be,
Getting ready for the evening visits to their houses:
Oh, how all that mood has disappeared somewhere!
This Eid was more of an Eid for the rich and the affluent,
Not for the have-nots, the poor and the unfed,
Who were shunned away if they knocked at the doors,
For some charity, some Eid food, some clothes, even if old.
Those good old jolly time has vanished into eternity,
I really did not enjoy this Eid at all in any way,
As it was so quiet, sombre, and to put it correctly:
Altogether, so worldly.
I missed my father, the family, the laughter and jokes,
The playfulness of my brothers and sisters,
Along with the boys and girls who were our neighbours.
To what a strange and fearful state has this world reached?
This Eid had the television blaring news about wars and
turmoil:
The killings of innocent ones in the Middle East.
The wails of the helpless Palestinian women and children;
It also brought with it the scenes of thousands of refugees,
Displaced by the military operation in Waziristan.
It was all so pathetic, so sad, so tearful,
As I compared it with the Eid of yore.
Then I thought to myself with a pause,
As to where are we heading to,
A world where only the powerful have the right,
To live and enjoy life while the poor lament and cry,
Where mothers are unable to feed their hungry babies,
Where fathers go out to seek money but do not return home,
Where terrorism has spread its Octopus-like tentacles,
Where even the angels of The God Almighty shuddered,
To see the level of degradation that mankind has swooped to?
I feel sad, terribly sad,
This is not the Eid I wanted.
This is just outward show and pomp,
Flattery and deception,
Without a care for what God has said:
"Be charitable and share your food and joys",
"With the meek and the humble of the earth".
Where are we going?
Yes, I repeat once more the very same question,
With a heavy heart and a troubled mind:
Where are we going?
