This Ramadan, among other firsts which I mentioned right at the beginning of this month, another got added to the list. Missing Friday prayers during Ramadan. And this week, reached there just as the khutba was about to begin. Nothing else, just plain laziness and not paying attention to time. Funnily, which isn’t what happens…
If the first Iftar while stuck in traffic has happened already, how could the first Iftar all by myself be far behind? There are times when I end up saying the same prayers twice. Not out of forgetfulness; out of a mix of laziness, compulsiveness and a lack of time and space of the right…
Cold. Cough. Chances of a fever. Nothing much to do except trying to sleep through the day, in the hope that the time to break the fast would be nigh on waking up. The rain and thunder made sure there wasn’t as much sleep.
Time flies. To add, time flies during Ramadan like no other time. Done with half of the month already, and what have we got? The excitement, at the sighting of the moon which heralded the start of the month, has somewhat been lost as we reach closer to a full moon. The novelty of fasting,…
Given the traffic situation in Delhi, there has to be at least one instance when you end up having Iftar, not out of choice, in the cosiness (which turns just about claustrophobic enough at the time) of the car. Used to happen quite often earlier, when I used to be out on the road, rushing…
It rained heavily over the weekend. It rained heavily back home too. Amma told me when, as is usual, I called her in the morning. She told me that a 20 years old boy got electrocuted in the neighborhood. He did odd jobs as an electrician, had done some repair work at home too at…
Woke up around 6.30am to the news that friends had met with an accident on the highway. It was almost at the end of the highway as it enters town, which was just about a few kilometers away. Thankfully, there weren’t any major injuries; looking at the car, things could have been way worse. A…
“Uncle uncle, please meri bhi ek photo.” “Nahi, ek hamari saath mein pahle.” “Uncle uncle, ek meri akele photo.” “…” “Uncle, ek aur. Nahin ek aur please.” “…” “Isko nahi pata. Main sunaati hoon. La-Ilaaha Illallah…” “…” “Accha uncle, please meri ek aur photo…” Children always make an amazing subject for photographs. Like these three…
Second farewell in exactly a week. Another one leaves to find, and build, a new life in a new place. On a much longer flight and with much lesser check-in luggage. Now, if only every beginning would be preceded by a farewell, and every farewell followed by a beginning.
Ramadan or not, teetotallers binge on chai. (Though, I’ve known some who practice ‘teetotalling’ during Lent; not so sure if they binge on chai too.) Chai right after you break your fast at Iftar. Chai right before you leave for Taraweeh prayers. Chai right after Taraweeh prayers. Chai between Taraweeh and Tahajjud. Chai before Fajr…