My childhood memories of Ramadan, I suspect, is as fairly common as any other Malayali kid growing up in Kerala - the zombie-like walk to the dining table to have athaazham before Fajr, the excitement of having loads of food at Ifthar (and then getting full after a juice and three cutlets!), accompanying my family to the masjid during the nights of Taraweeh. Every Ramadan, there would always be one Ifthar without fail at my grandmothers', always a day or two of travel to visit distant relatives in Thrissur and culminating with Ifthar at either my uncle's in Kodungalloor or my Aunt's in Aluva. And of course, on the day of Eid-ul-Fitr, the frantic rush to get dressed and out the house on time for Eid prayers - the Eid-Gahs we went to were almost always the Kaloor Stadium or the GCDA grounds in Ernakulam.
All of these memories will always be close to me, however, there were some wonderful memories I made when I went to study in the UK.
The first year in the UK was one full of assignments and adjustments - cramming a master's degree course into one year is no joke, and combined with adjusting to the new environment was hard, to say the least. That year thankfully the month of Ramadan was closer to the end of my course year. I was blessed to have shared bread with some wonderful flatmates - one of my closest friends from Pakistan, a Somali friend and an Uzbek, all Muslims. This combination accounted for some very interesting discussions about Islam and various traditions in one's country! Those interactions made me marvel at the diversity of the Islamic Ummah, but also how everyone comes together in unison in Islam.
After moving from Edinburgh to Leeds for work, I stayed with yet another bunch of wonderful flatmates, but who all were Pakistanis - and boy, do they take their discussions seriously! Those lively discussions especially during Ramadan were such a treat, and something I fondly cherish :) During Ramadan, we would visit the Pakistani masjid for Ifthar, and what a grandiose Ifthar these masjids had! This was something I never had in Kerala since I always broke fast at home, but it was always a wonderful experience to share ifthar with fellow Muslims in the masjid :) There is one part that always amused me - the tenacity of my roommate to go to the masjid's kitchen and request some remaining Naans and curry for Suhoor! It was all in good spirits and the generosity of the masjid :)
While in Leeds, the most I looked forward to were the Taraweeh prayers (Now don't get me wrong, Taraweeh back home in Kerala was also good, but you don't appreciate it as much when you are a youngster/teen). I had moved closer to my workplace in the following years, and there was an Arab mosque nearby (the Leeds Grand Mosque). The Arab Imam's Qirat is one of the best I had heard by far, it was truly mesmerizing and magnificent. I had never felt so humbled and small standing in front of Allah when he beautifully recited the verses from the Holy Quran. I'm not ashamed to say that many times those nights I was broken with repentance and eyes moistened with seeking forgiveness from Allah. It goes without saying these experiences are like medicine for the heart and soul :) Those nights gave me newfound appreciation and love for our deen.
There are so many more interesting memories I made during those times as a bachelor in the UK (my work colleague asks incredulously, "Not even water??!! I didn't know that!"), and now fast-forward today I'm making new ones here in Canada :). These are unprecedented times with the pandemic and all, and we are forced to adjust and hold back from many traditions we hold dear during this blessed month. But I'm sure we are all taking it in our stride and making each Ramadan as memorable and fulfilling as possible in one's own way:) May Allah accept our deeds and prayers Insha Allah, Ramadan Mubarak Everyone!
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