Eid ul Adha is almost less than a month away and we have already started noticing the preparation on the streets. Going out and about you will see that some people have brought in their Gai Bakray already. But that’s just the beginning of it, in a matter of weeks every street will be crowded with a mandi of its own. You will hear the sound of children passing by laughing and cheering as they take their pet animals for a stroll. You must be coming across numerous trucks laden with cows on their way to buyers. There is a completely different aura that this festival brings with itself.
Mandi Trips:
Beautiful animals in Mandi!
It wouldn’t be fair talking about Eid ul Adha if I don’t talk about trips to the mandi. This is an excursion we all wait for the entire year. Hanging out with friends in the Mandi is always a different experience. Everyone wants to see the biggest and the best animals in the mandi. Some people just have a preference, sibbi ka Chand bail ya phir Australian. Spending the night traveling around to mandis, trodding about the mandi, looking at some exquisite animals with grand prices is something just common for the youth today. If you have never spent an entire night roaming around these places you really haven’t lived the spirit of Bakra eid in real.
Kids at Eid ul Adha:
Kids with beautiful Qurbani ka Janwar!
They say that it’s the children that really celebrate Eid. And I believe that it is very much true no matter which Eid it is. In the Meethi Eid, it’s a competition amongst the children to get as much Eidi as they can. There isn’t any feeling equal to boasting to your friends about how much Eidi you got and seeing their faces change of awe and surprise, achievement unlocked. The same way Eid ul Adha is about getting apni pasand ka janwar. And these are usually a bit too much for the pockets of parents. Unless of course, you are lucky enough to be born in the one percent.
All parents can relate to experiences of their children going to the mandi with them and insisting (that’s putting it lightly) on buying the biggest grandest animal they can see. Those cute tantrums are just too amusing to watch really. In the end, it’s more of a bargain between the parent and the child about which animal to get before the parent has to haggle with the cattle owner. By the time most people go to the mandi, prices are already skyrocketing every day. You know how the bargaining process goes, and after you’ve finally bought the animal and are on your way, who doesn’t ask you ‘bhai kitny ka lia?’
The Big Day:
Kids hugging each other after Eid prayers!
When the big day finally comes it’s all about Eid ki namaz at the start. People wear new kurta shalwars and put on a good perfume before heading out for the namaz. After that comes time for the deed. Qasais are called early morning and the sacrifices begin. It’s a sad sight for the children because they put their heart into their animals. But who doesn’t love freshly cooked meals that come afterward? The next three days are all about food, meat, and dawats, a lot of dawats. You eat so much you almost get sick of eating at the end, but that doesn’t make any of us stop, does it?
This season albeit short has a charm of its own, you will see people get together and their joy, whether it is to travel to the mandi together, or sit by and savor the desi cuisine at dawats and what not. You can’t deny there is some part of it everyone loves.
