Were one to choose a solitary colour to describe the mood of Eid-ul-Fitr 2010 (1431), it would be an obvious gray. Varying shades of gray depending upon the intensity with which one views how Eid was experienced across the land, and depending upon the perceptions one has about the overall environment of the country. I am hesitating to use black instead of gray - or even white, which may also symbolise a certain solemnity and sadness.
How will this year's Eid, for which there were four official public holidays, and a lingering Eid mood still very visible in the air, be remembered in the years to come? Is this the kind of Eid one would not want to have etched in memory? It is that kind of ambience that Pakistanis are in today. Not just floods and its aftermath and the war against terror with its aftermath or the cumulative impact of so many domestic and external (read global) factors. The citizen's morale appears so worrying.
I am tempted or rather distracted by Eid nostalgia as I focus on this Eid and images of many Eids of yesteryears come to mind. For so many reasons. What was Eid like in the sixties and then seventies? Or later? What was the country like in those days? Democracy and its failures or dictatorships and the propaganda in its favour. Of course, such socio-political factors also shaped Eid and I wonder whether any creative or literary work has been done to mirror the profile of how the celebration of Eid has changed in Pakistani society.
What has Pakistani family life become would be interesting to examine. It would be very interesting, and immensely useful to understand the making or undoing of Pakistani society, and the appalling decline in our morale values. Of how materialistic and impersonal Eid and such religious occasions have become with the passage of time. A valid question seeking answers, analysis.
Of Eid in the fifties, I have memories, blurred somewhat, being eclipsed by time. Let me state something obvious and stereotyped, old fashioned, that Eid was so much more emotional personalised, and festive an occasion when there was less of technology. More of family and friends; less was better and simple was such an enrichening experience.
If on the one hand there are images of Eid of so many Eids and people from memory lane that are surfacing here, it is imperative to look at the nature of Eid-ul-Fitr 2010. Look at the fact that even though there were strong astrological considerations that the Shawwal moon would not be sighted on the 29th of Ramazan (on Thursday), and which is what happened finally, the moon was sighted in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. And the provincial government (KP) also announced that Eid would be celebrated on Friday. The central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee (on Thursday) announced somewhat late that Eid would be on Saturday. Indeed Thursday evening had its familiar uncertainty (dramatic in a way) and Chand Raat was in waiting.
There then followed a conventional pattern of lament that the country was celebrating two Eids. Some went ahead to argue that politics had overcome the Islamic status of moon sighting. That kind of argument. But then is there not a history of two Eids on so many occasions in the past, in which the NWFP (in those days) celebrated Eid a day in advance. Or even began fasting a day earlier than the rest of the country. I fail to understand why there should be such hue and cry (is that the right expression) about two Eids. Or why we should feel uneasy in varying degrees when Saudi Arabia or the UAE have their Eid a day or even two before Pakistan.
Perhaps, it is not for two Eids that this Eid will be remembered? It is the first Eid, in a way, that was in a way in a context of numerous challenges and frustrations, which surfaced to make the occasion sadder still. In fact, Ramazan too this year was akin to no other month of fasting in the past. The cheer or solace and consolation that the TV channels or rather the media tried to lend to the festive occasion was futile.
For Eid-ul-Fitr 2010, there was the ongoing war against terror, and the overall depressing economic condition of the country, the prices of foodstuffs and non food items that have been climbing upwards well before Ramazan, the resentment and anger of the common man, the suicide bombing and the targeted killings, murders, street crime, dacoities, burglaries -ordinary everyday corruption and inefficiency and a low level of work ethics - the list is long and citizens are familiar with it.
But the solitary factor of floods 2010 has intensified and aggravated the situation, and complicated the scenario, and extended to it deeper tragic dimensions that are evidently bound to stretch over five years or more. The recovery, and rehabilitation plus all depends on how Pakistan and the world react to the devastation. The Time weekly in its August 30 issue has written that "the Flood plain of the Indus River cradled one of history's earliest civilisations, and the river's destructive powers have been biblical of late... now Pakistan stands at a precipice, its political class toothless, its army overstretched its economy bankrupt. Looking to the heavens, countless stranded, starving Pakistanis can only hope for the skies."
The agony, and pathos of the flood hit people, both in the affected areas, and the relief camps was a sad reminder all through Eid, of the mammoth task that lies ahead. And the emotional scars that that the natural disaster has left behind. How will that heal, if ever. Psychologists should speak out on this theme. Needless to say that the flood 2010 havoc has thrown up many other themes, (read problems) and it is a frightening thought of what could lie ahead.
This Eid was celebrated on the 62nd death anniversary of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah - and which was also the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on America - and images of the Twin Towers in New York crumbling, were seen on the channels on day. Also interlinked with this anniversary was the global question "Is America Islamophobic? The central question arises because of the proposed mosque near the Ground Zero. Time, weekly has said that "Islam in America. It's part of the fabric of life, but protests reveal a growing hostility to the religion of Muslims." These dimensions were also an extension of the Eid mood in the lives of Pakistanis.
Hoping for some cheer and sunshine were two occasions of whether Aisamul Haq would win in the US Open Tennis and Pakistan would win at least one ODI against England. That too did not happen. So desperate Pakistanis seeking and yearning for smiles in their lives returned to their unhappy routine. Will there be a "bloody revolution" or will there be a martial law-type of change - or will the rulers get away with it again?
Those questions began returning. Also, what will be the quality of relief that will be given to the flood affected families? What we know so far is not encouraging. One can go on trying to look at the profile of Eid-ul-Fitr 2010 and contemplate that agitating question of how this auspicious festival will be remembered in the years to unfold I am not yet thinking about the monsoon season next year or the winter that is creeping in.
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