Shab e Barat was certainly one of the fun days of my childhood. Eating endless varieties of Halwa, distributing among the entire neighborhood rich and poor and the fireworks are well kept in my memory. So many happy times, smiling faces and fondest of memories come back to me every year. The essence, the simplicity or the magic is lost, but my endless effort of recreating happy times continues… here are some glimpses of this year’s Shabe e Barat extravagance.
বরাতের রাতে ছোটকালের সেই আতশবাজি, ভাইবোনদের হালুয়া উৎসব আর পাড়া-প্রতিবেশীদের সাজানো ট্রে আর আসে না। আসে না, বাড়ির উঠানে তারাবাতির জন্য অপেক্ষা, কখন চাচা নিয়ে ঢুকবে শখের তারাবাতি। হাসিখুশি মুখগুলো, উৎসবের সেই আটপৌরেভাব বা যাদুমাখা রঙিন দিনগুলোকে মনে করেই দিনটা কেটে গেলো।
তবু আমার মত করেই উৎসব করলাম, আমি একা একা…
Shab e Barat: Muslims around the world believe that on the night of Shab-E-Barat, Allah writes the destinies of all men for the coming year. There are many forms of celebration take place on this ocassion. Making halwa on Shab e Barat is perhaps one of the biggest task of the home makers. Planning, going through recipe books/magazines, buying ingredients and preparation takes more than a week time. Cooking halwa is not as sweet as it tastes. It takes hell lot of time and energy. However, distributing the halwa among neighbors and poor is a fun task. Kids are usually occupied playing fire works.
Photo: Author