Let the joy of Eid be replete with sacrifice..

Last year too Eid-ul-Azha was observed amid the alarm of coronavirus, but there was the hope that all this would be over by the next Eid, that by then the virus would have vanished. A year has passed, but that hope has been dashed to the ground. Covid that destroyed countless families, snatched away their loved ones, their earnings. From the marginal farmer to the small trader, the jobless teacher to the laid-off worker—they all stand on the brink of a bottomless abyss. Coronavirus has taken an alarming turn this Eid. Experts say if it continues this way, the situation will go out of control.

But at the end of the day, it is Eid. No matter how bad the situation, people want to celebrate Eid. They want to get together with their families, to strengthen bonds. And children are the life of any religious festivity. But this time, thousands of children are deprived of the joy of Eid. Eid can hardly be a happy occasion if they do not get even just a single meal of good food, let alone a new set of clothes. But if those who have the means to make a difference, who have the ability to extend a helping hand, fail to do so, then the actual all-encompassing joy of Eid is diminished.

As children we learnt that Eid was an occasion of joy and Eid-ul-Azha in particular was about sacrifice for the welfare of the people. In our Bangla class we would have to write essays on the greatness of sacrifice. We would write that the sacrifice was not just of the individual, but of the community, the society and, even at a higher level, of the state. In the new colonial state in which we lived at the time, the ‘sacrifice’ was for the few privileged people and families. For us was the dregs of exploitation.

My teacher was a thinker. Perhaps he would think about matters of the state. Also about people’s rights. And the greatness of sacrifice. But I never got to ask him about all that.

This write-up last Eid had brushed aside all ruminations and looked ahead. I had been inspired by some youth, some organisations and groups who had come forward to stand by the side of the hapless families. They had provided them with food, the children with new clothes, had arranged treatment for the ailing. This spirit of sacrifice seem to throw light on the path forward for people even in the dark times. But their resources were frugal next to the mammoth demands. Even their limited efforts eventually dwindled.