Author: Zahra Ishaq
It was winter’s evening, not silent as usual. And there she was running blindly towards her home, ignoring everything coming in her way. Even on this cold evening, she was sweating. Her feet were aching, but did it even matter to her? She was not being able to control herself. She was just five years old; her eyes were filled with joy and excitement. She was thrilled to show something. Her heart was pounding. She could feel the whole universe in her arms. It was the night before “Eid-ul-fitar”, we call it “Chaand Raat”. The night when the whole Bazar is filled with glitters, light, ringing laughter, and excitement. The streets were illuminated with different decorative lights and beautiful hangings. The air was filled with the aroma of “Jalebian”, hot “Gulab Jamun”, “Samosas”, “Halwapuri” etc.
Perhaps it was the first time when she was experiencing this festive evening when joy came at her door without knocking and hugged her. A few minutes ago, she was standing with her father at the bangles shop, a huge shop with thousands of bangles in many varieties. The bangles were sparkling in yellow lights, in a moment one could see only the sparkles. The shopkeeper showed the bangles and asked her father to select them. The man asked how many dozens of bangles he wants, the father replied “as much as her arms could bear”, he chose the colors of bangles which were golden and silver. It was almost a dozen bangles in each arm, one with silver and the other with golden. The glitter on her bangles seemed stars to her. All of a sudden, she forgot everything but her bangles. For her the pleasure was limitless.
Finally, she reached home, she started calling everyone cheerfully, impatiently. She was fully delighted; she couldn’t wait to show her joy she was wearing on her arms.
At that evening, her loved ones perhaps couldn’t be able to see the crescent on the sky, but they were seeing the brightened full moon standing next to them, with sparkling stars in her arms.
“In extra ordinary times, the ordinary takes on a glow and wonder all of its own”. Mike A. Lancaster
