As if eid joy depends on spending a lot

After so many years, at this age, when I look towards eid celebrations, I see many phases. I have celebrated eid many times in home and abroad. When it comes to childhood eid memories, I directly go back in the 50s. I was born in Tikatuli in 1952. So, I don't have any memories before 1955. As a three-year-old boy, I could remember that our neighbourhoods were like a family. People often nostalgically say, 'Oh, how beautiful the neighboruhoods were before—things are not that actually. The point is, the neighbourhoods were organic before. Now, it's all through social media. It isn't like that before.

Let me tell you a little bit more about who the residents of Tikatuli were. A large number of those who lived in Tikatuli migrated from Kolkata. Most of them were educated Muslims. The educated middle class waged the movement to lead the country from the language movement to the Liberation War. Whether it is political, social, or cultural, I am talking about that movement.

I could mention the names of two or four important people of that period. Let me tell you the name of one, Begum Sufia Kamal; she lived in Tikatuli. She was our grandmother. Why grandmother? My grandmother also lived in Tarabagh, a little away from Tikatuli. Grandmother's son is Shamim uncle; Shamim uncle was my uncle's friend, so he was also my uncle. Brother Fateh (Freedom fighter Fateh Ali Chowdhury) and Brother Shahadat (Shahadat Chowdhury, renowned as a freedom fighter and editor of Bichitra) were also from that neighboruhood. Another very important person was Sikandar Abu Zafar. Editor of Bangladesh's first literary magazine, 'Samakal'.

These kinds of people used to live there. Their lifestyle was naturally intertwined with cultural discussions. Another point is that, considering the number of freedom fighters who participated in Tikatuli, very few freedom fighters can be found in one neighboruhood. Major Matin and Major Salek were freedom fighters. They used to live on the opposite side of our house. They came from Kolkata. The civic culture established in Dhaka was actually developed by the residents of Tikatuli.

I grew up in that neighbourhood. I recall a memory from those eid days. Saying that will help me understand my mental structure too. I never went to the mosque until I was three years old. We didn't have such a thing in our house. Very few people used to go to the mosque on those days. So when I went to the mosque, suddenly I heard the preacher saying, 'Without Muslims, no one else will enter paradise.' I felt very upset. Not only Muslims lived in the neighbourhood, there was a Hindu mess next to our house; they used to call me sometimes. When I was small, they used to call me and adore me. Won’t they enter paradise too? I don't know what paradise is. As much as I could understand, that's a good place.

When I came home, I hugged my mother and cried profusely. I told my mother, 'Will only Muslims go to heaven? Hindus won't?' What I meant by saying this was that perhaps I thought that they would not be allowed to enter the heavens. My mother said to me, "Listen, there are good and bad people in Allah's eyes. Good people will go to heaven, bad people won't." The fact that my mother gave me the reason that there's no other discrimination in this world except between good and bad. This thought has guided me throughout my life.

Iftar wasn't very festive in the 1950s. We used to wait to see what my mother would cook. It was the era of home-cooked meals, not buying from shops. Even if it was bought from shops, it was very little. Just some biscuits and cakes from the bakery. My father didn't bring much food from outside. So, my mother had to endure a lot at that time. During iftar, we used to have chickpeas, puffed rice, and some fruits. When guests came, my mother would also prepared some other items. We weren't very lucky in terms of variety.

And the Eid-day meal was very simple. Chicken and basmati rice pulao. My wife still tells me today to bring chicken and basmati rice. Since hundreds of years, Bengali Muslims have been taking chicken and pulao on eid. Now there's a lot more variety in food than before. Despite the variety, chicken and pulao still remain.

On eid, another thing was going around visiting neighbours. Let me tell you about Begum Sufia Kamal. She was the oldest person in Tikatuli. I used to come across her while visiting my grandparents' house. Many used to come to visit her. We used to spend lively time chatting whenever we visited her house. However, the culture of exchanging greetings was not prevalent in Tikatuli. Tikatuli residents kept some distance from the people of old Dhaka. One reason for this was that the people of Tikatuli were somewhat educated, so there was a bit of a superiority complex. Even though old Dhaka was a bit far away, nobody would venture in that direction.

The culture of Tikatuli was one of coexistence. Hindus gradually started leaving. Tikatuli's culture was that of a strong, educated middle-class culture. This culture also had an impact on the 1971 Liberation War. '71 was the war of a few classes and groups. Sushil Group, or, by which I mean, Tikatuli, was a civilized neighbourhood. It wasn't very prosperous, but it was fastidious. Eid celebrations weren't extravagant. There wasn't much to show off.

There was no need to knock on the doors of any house. If the doors were open, you could just walk in. It doesn't matter if you're small. Actor Bulbul Ahmed used to live in that neighbourhood. I remember one day he was walking, carrying me on his shoulder. Many days later, when I met him, he said, "No one will believe that I carried this person on my shoulder."

Actor Aly Zaker used to live in that neighbourhood as well. I have called him ‘Chhotlu’ uncle since childhood. He's a friend of one of my uncles. I have grown up to be quite attached to the uncle culture, as my uncles were there.

However, whatever eid implied, it wasn't grandeur back then. People used to come home to a simple celebration. The washermen used to come home. Old clothes were washed with detergent. A barber used to come home to cut hair. I don't remember going to the salon until the 1980s. Tailors even used to come home to take measurements. There wasn't a trend toward making clothes in shops.

I'll end this writing with a memory. A punjabi has been tailored for me for eid. The punjabi has become a bit tight. I was quite upset. When my father came home, seeing my face, he said, "What happened?" I started crying.

Then, how old will I be? It will be five or six years. We lived on Dilu Road then. It was around 1961. We had a jeep. Father took us to Chawk Bazar in the Jeep. Chawk Bazar was bustling. My father bought me a new punjabi. I was very happy. When we were leaving, we met one of father's friends. He had come with his wife. My father used to be the manager of the National Bank of Pakistan in Sadarghat, which later became Sonali Bank. So, that gentleman was taking his wife to the gold shop. Father told mother that he was coming to buy a gold necklace for eid.

Thus began the trend. Primarily, money started flowing into people's hands in the 1960s. Then, eid expenditures started from that point onwards, towards the late '50s and '60s. Before that, the concept of spending wasn't as prevalent. Now, spending seems to be the essence of eid celebrations. People of today won't understand the essence of eid during my childhood.

Writer: Author, Researcher and Journalist.