Ramzaan 2015 'YadoN ke jharoke'

Article by Nafha Salman
In Lahore, on a cold winter night at about 2 am, I suddenly woke up to a siren outside, blaring as loud as possible. However, none of us were scared. In fact, I was very excited and wanted to get out of bed. But my mom said: “Not yet.” Half an hour later, I could hear the drums beating and the voice behind the loud speaker was insisting that everyone rise. I wanted to get up; but again, my mom said: “Not yet.” A little while later, a man was reciting na’ats on a loud speaker and calling people to wake up. But, my mom said: “Not yet.” Then, the alarm clock rang. My mom got up, went to the bathroom to do wuzu and woke my father up for tahajjud prayers. I could barely contain my joy. But again, she turned to me and said: “Not yet.”
“Then when???” I cried out.
“In a bit.”
All this excitement was for fasting in Ramadan. This was going to be my first time. Like all my friends and younger cousins, I had always wanted to fast the way my older family members did. I was finally going to find out what happens at Sehri time. It had always seemed so mysterious.
I could see the lights turned on in various houses around the neighborhood now. Activity had started in the kitchen too. I could not stay in bed any longer and went out to see what was going on. The family was gathering and there was quite a spread out already. They were warming up the aloo gosht which was our favorite saalan, frying eggs or omelets upon request, whipping up raita from the fresh yogurt that had been made the same day and cutting up seasonal fruit. My mom was making Rooh Afzah for my dad and I. Black tea and Kashmiri chai with bakar khani and sawaiyyan were there for the others.  And above all, they were making fresh hot parathas for each member of the family. Being the youngest, I loved to have a smaller size, crisp paratha that had to be shaped as a square instead of a circle. The small, square paratha was there for me. We began to eat. Despite the excellent quality and variety to suit everybody’s tastes, it was not easy to eat so much at that time. Slowly but surely, we were devouring it, till the siren rang again and we quickly gulped it all down before the azaan started.  
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In Boston, on a cold winter night some years back, I woke up my kids: “Get up, it’s time for Sehri.” They all jumped up with joy and got around the table.
“No, I cannot have saalan. Who eats saalan at this time?”
“No eggs please.”
“Paratha is too heavy, I’ll have a slice of bread instead.”
“I’ll make a sandwich. No tea for me, only water.”
“Okay, now you have to finish it all in five minutes because it’s almost time for azaan” announced my husband. Quickly, we tried to finish. With all the hustle and bustle around the apartment, the tenant living downstairs banged a bat on his ceiling demanding that we quiet down.
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“What do you want for Iftaar?” asked my father. “Pakoray, samosay, chaat, dahi bhalay and pastries” was my quick response.
The day had passed with excitement and I was looking forward to the iftaar. Everybody was saying how easy the winter Ramadan is compared to the long summer ones. Being in the habit of munching, I found it difficult to abstain from snacking; meanwhile, the adults of the family were missing their caffeine. My uncle, who was a smoker, was finding difficulty passing the day without his nicotine fix every half hour. At break time during school, I hadn’t known what to do. Some of my friends were also fasting so we all sat down and shared stories about how at some point in the day, we were almost at the verge of eating or drinking but remembered that we were fasting. We talked about what we had in the morning and what we wanted to eat in the evening and what our parents told us about Ramadan. We talked about why we had been asked to fast and pray, and how we should remember Allah more and be grateful for all his bounties. Getting together at iftaar time was fun and it was particularly interesting to see what freshly prepared delicacies each of the neighbors shared with each other every night.
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“Will you be home for iftaar?” I asked my youngest daughter. “No, I have a game.”
“I have a class today,” announced my middle one.
“I have work, so I’ll be home an hour after iftaar.”
“What do you want to eat when you get home?” I asked.
Samosay, Parkoray, chaat, dahi bhalaay and seekh kebabs was the usual list.
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“How was your day?” I asked, as each one staggered home.
“I think I opened my fast about 10 minutes late because we were playing.”
“I broke my fast with a piece of candy during the lecture and ate a slice of pizza on the way home.”
“I switched my lunch break with a colleague so I could break my fast at work.”  
“But now I want to eat all the things you made for iftaar please.”
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“How was your day?” I asked.
“I was fine, not hungry, but my friends were concerned about eating in front of me. They wanted to know about Ramadan. Tomorrow one of them has said she won’t eat during the day either.”
“Yeah mine too, but she said that she will drink water though.”
“How was your day?” they asked me.
Working in the food service industry, I am surrounded by food and usually give into my cravings despite “being on a diet” 364 days a year. However, abstaining from food becomes so easy for me while I am fasting. My customers are always so concerned about how I am surrounded by tempting food, but it doesn’t bother me one bit because I am fulfilling my duties to Allah.
“Did you not make the pakoray today?”
“No, not today, I didn’t find time. But I have made some biryani instead,” I offered with enthusiasm.
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Ramadan goes by the lunar calendar which is ten days shorter than the solar calendar. So every year, it falls ten days earlier than the year before. These days, Ramadan falls in the summer, during the longest and warmest days.
I’m often asked, “Do you still fast from sunrise to sunset even in the summers?”
“Yes.”
“Not even a sip of water? How do you do it?!”
When you intend sincerely i.e. make the niyyat to do so, Allah helps you. When you think of the people who have no food or drink, you appreciate your blessings and you give thanks to Allah for providing you with all the luxuries. We love Ramadan and forward to it every year.
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Last week, my three year old granddaughter was excited to keep a fast. I asked her how she was going to do it and she explained that she was going to keep “the kiddie roza” and just break the fast with me.
“What will you have for iftaar?” I asked.
Instantly, she replied: “Samosay and pakoray.”
 

 Author can be reached at….
 nafha.salman@gmail.com