Ramazan is such an important part of our culture and religion. The holy month requires us to sustain and purify. It makes us understand the plight of the less fortunate and as a result, we are very charitable then. However, we are also very irritable then. Hangry (anger caused by hunger) is a real concept! And if anyone doesn’t believe, ask them to drive a car in Lahore in the middle of Ramazan. Then they will know what true road rage is.
That’s the interesting part about this Ramazan in Pakistan; it’s the time you’ll see the best and the worst of humanity.
I remember as a kid looking forward to Ramazan so much. Part of that was that school would be shorter, and everyone will be tired. That meant less work for me, and more time to just be lay around. And the truth is being hungry all day was never too bad. Most of you have no idea how I look, but if you saw me you’d understand. Plus sehri and iftari were such fun times. Everyone waking up in the middle of the night to eat a hefty meal, for me paratha and kebabs. As a child, it was exciting to be up so late. Iftari is always better though. The wide range of food, from Chaat to jalebis to Pakorays and so on. The excitement on everyone’s face.
By that time, most people are at this point of euphoria- a moment full of true accomplishment.
But honestly, the older I get, the harder it has become. The obvious answer to that has been, well I’m getting older. That childish excitement has gone away. The older you get; life become more stressful. The concept of Ramazan just seems like a part of your everyday routine now. But there’s a bigger problem.
Ramazan changed over the years-atleast the way it’s celebrated here.
I started to notice people were angry all the time. Like seriously, all the time. Plus, no one does any work during Ramazan. Like literally none. It’s like Ramazan is a get-out-of-working card that everyone seems to use whenever they just do not want to work. And there’s something else that’s been happening. Ramazan started to become more commercial and political in nature. Debates on the whether saying Ramadan shows “Saudization” of Pakistan has been done and dusted for some time now. Ramazan sales are literally happening all the time. And then came the Ramazan transmissions came.
At first, they were great, informative and fun. Then, it became a battle for ratings.
Celebrity Ramazan transmissions started to become the normal for media. The problem is that they’d sacrifice on the quality and content for star-power. They’ll hire celebrities who clearly do not know what they are talking about. And then when that isn’t enough, they try anything to get higher ratings. Probably the biggest example is when Aamir Liaquat Hussain presented baby girls to two unsuspecting couples during his show, like literally an object.
This type of attitude ruins the whole point of Ramzan, a time for self-reflection-not for self-indulgence.
However, something good may have happened. In an unprecedented move, the Punjab Assembly passed a resolution calling for a ban on showbiz celebrities from hosting and attending Ramazan transmissions. This, as you can tell, made my week. While this is a small step towards what I want, nothing will really change how people act in person. And there’s really nothing I can about that. But maybe that’s is my test. To be able to handle everyone else.
But hey, at least there will be jalebis.
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