With the sighting of the new moon tonight, the month of Ramadan (in the Islamic calendar) comes to a close, with Eid ul-Fitr being celebrated in most parts of Pakistan on Monday ("most?" that's a longer story…).
On the surface, Ramadan is perceived as an entire month where people refrain from eating and drinking between sunrise and sunset. I have learnt over the last year that there is a lot more to Ramadan than that, and thought that the only way I could discover how much was to experience it first-hand. So at the beginning of Ramadan (late August), I made a decision to really partake in this Ramadan, to fast and to set a personal goal to avoid getting irritated and to be more patient with people. At the other end of that journey, I wanted to summarise some of my observations.
The Good
- Fasting (refraining from drinking, eating, smoking, among other things) was not so hard, and it becomes routine after a while. I fasted for 26 of the 28 days (2 days I was sick and had to keep hydrated and take medicine).
-
Delicious food
- A sense of community, of oneness, can be seen. Everyone is going through the same ritual, regardless of their level of wealth. In a country as split as Pakistan, that's unique.
- The breaking of the fast after sunset (called iftar) brings people together. I observed at a friend's place last night the family gathering around the time of iftar and chatting. With family members leading different lives at different paces, it's wonderful to see a family come together like that.
-
Iftar
-
Iftar
- Life slows down during Ramadan. Work hours are shortened, since people are able to work less due to fasting. I had time to nap in the afternoons, read the paper and online news subscriptions and spend time with friends, which I really appreciated.
- One of my goals for the month was to challenge myself to be more patient and less irritable. If I'm tired, hungry and thirsty and can manage to not snap at the people around me, I can surely continue to do so for the rest of the year.
- Perhaps most significant to me, and what I see at the core of Ramadan, is the concept of self-awareness. It's about trying to be a better person, and getting into a routine in order to ensure that for the rest of the year. (Many people here attend prayers, tarawih, every night, and make an effort to pray five times a day, when they may usually not bother to.)
The Bad
- I saw many people take advantage of the fact that they were fasting to not do any work. Government offices and banks closed at 1pm (while most offices were open for another two hours). The general attitude is that no work happens during Ramadan, because people are fasting. From my understanding, the point of Ramadan is to appreciate what a blessing food is, and to persevere through such difficulties without complaining. Complaining that you don't have energy to work means that you've not been able to overcome those bodily needs. (Granted, one does get tired in the afternoons and it does impact your ability to concentrate. The point is to overcome it and not complain and make excuses.)
- For many, fasting and refraining from excess ends as soon as sunset (maghrib) comes. After that, people go wild shopping and eating, which businesses happily support (for example with the iftar deals in cafes and restaurants). This seems contrary to the intentions for the month, of appreciating what you have and what you need, not what you want.
- Now that Ramadan has ended, life will return to normal for many. The routine built up during the month will sadly dwindle for most. I've heard of people refraining from drinking [alcohol] during Ramadan, only to break it out now that the month is over, which makes no sense to me. (This is not a moral judgement on whether alcohol is wrong, more just a comment on the reasoning for not doing something for the month, only to celebrate once it's over. It comes down to intention.) (I've seen a similar blog post on these three points on the DAWN Blog. Check it out.)
The Ugly
- A stampede took place as women and children rushed to collect the rations being distributed by a generous businessman (who has been doing it for a few years apparently), with 20 being killed and more injured. The businessman was arrested for "negligence and unintentional killing", when in fact a whole host of factors played into the situation: the inability of the police to manage crowds; inflation increasing food prices, making it more difficult for the poor to purchase the staples of their diet; price fixing on flour and sugar; and at a higher level, the inability of the government to provide for the poor. In this situation, the businessman dishing out rations has become the scapegoat for an entire system that isn't providing for the people that need it the most. I found this despicable and characteristic of a system that is conditioned to pass the blame on to others and hope it gets lost within the layers of bureaucracy.
With all this said, fasting and partaking in Ramadan in a Muslim country has been quite an experience, and from this vantage point, I would intend to do it again next year.
Eid Mubarak!
