Eid Mubarak! In a blink, Ramazan is over and here we are celebrating Eid! I don’t know about you guys, but Eidul Fitr is my favourite festival and time of the year. I don’t know why they call it ‘Chhoti Eid’, because to me, this is the grandest Eid.

I mean, unlike Eidul Azha, the ‘Barri Eid’, this is when there is little work and all play, and lots of eidi to enjoy. And after a month of fasting, prayers and spirituality, we do want to pat ourselves a little on our back by indulging in our favourite foods, dressing up to the nines, and partying with a vengeance.

Coming together, family, community and sharing are infused in the spirit of Ramazan and Eid universally. And isn’t it amazing that Ramazan is the only time of the year when the whole family shares a meal every day for the whole month, and Eidul Fitr is also the time when we meet our friends and relatives that we hardly get to visit the whole year?

The sense of being connected to not just our family, but the whole Ummah is never stronger. And it is this connection that has constantly distressed me when I sat down to break the fast, and has taken the zing out of my “Eid Mubarak!” greeting this time.

I am sure most of you understand what I am saying and probably feel the same way when thinking of the sufferings of the people in Palestine and many other places due to war and injustice. I know, just the mention of this can totally knockout all the excitement out of anything.

And it doesn’t end here. The sufferings people in Gaza are going through even leads to a sense of guilt that we are so blessed and have so much, while countless are starving, injured and have lost lots of loved ones. One can start feeling a bit guilty for not just having enough to eat, but to waste, which we at times do, and not just one but many new dresses and things to use on Eid.

Suddenly, our regular expenses seem like extravagance to us since we are seeing raw images of people losing everything they possess, even their loved ones and their limbs.

Okay, okay, I need to shift from talking more about what atrocities are happening in Gaza and elsewhere, otherwise it will get too depressing, leaving us in too much pain to do something. What would really be more productive is to think of how blessed and lucky we are and what we can do with our blessing to make this world a better place for everyone.

Imagine

Okay, before anything else, let’s check out what John Lennon says in the timeless classic Imagine, that is considered an anthem for troubled times:

“Imagine all the people
Livin’ life in peace
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one.”
— Imagine, by John Lennon

Nobody can put what we need to do in simpler words than Lennon — we need to first imagine what we want in the world, and for that we need to be a dreamer. And when many dreamers come together, “the world will be as one”.

So let us dream of peace, of brotherhood, justice and human rights for everyone, and then let our imagination motivate us to turn our vision into reality. Every action, development and invention started off first in someone’s imagination, who then worked to turn it into reality. Let us do the same.

Speak, for your lips are free

Bol ke lab azaad hain tere,
Bol zubaan ab tak teri hai.
Tera sutvaan jism hai tera,
Bol ke jaan ab tak teri hai”

(Speak, for your lips are free; Speak, for your tongue is still yours. Your upright body belongs to you; Speak, for your soul, still is yours.) — Faiz Ahmad Faiz

These words of Faiz Sahib, like so many other words of his, infuse motivation and inspiration in even the bleakest of situations. Yes, our voice will forever be ours, it can’t be taken away from us as long as we are alive.

And we need to use this voice to not just speak for our rights, but of that of others, especially those who are powerless, like the Palestinians, the poor and illiterate in our society that have been suffering for aeons, and basically for the rights of every being.

And we should never let pessimism about what a lone voice can do ever stop us from speaking up. One never knows who else will be motivated by our words, and will add their voice to ours, until there is a roar loud enough to be heard by all.

Right now, we are seeing the power of words and voices, in all forms and all over the world. While earlier many people had heard of Palestine, but because of people both inside Gaza and outside it speaking about the atrocities being committed there many in the world have really understood, for the first time, what has been happening in Palestine for decades.

And this has brought about a big change in public opinion as well as policy changes of some governments. There is a lot more to be done and, until then, let us use our right of free speech to call out all the wrongs we see around us.

The spirit of passion

Hai jazba junoon,
Tau himmat na haar
Justajoo jo karay woh
Chhuay aasmaan
Mehnat apni ho gi
Pehchaan kabhi na bhoolo
Sab ki nazron mein
Pakistan
Kabhi na bhoolo

(If you have the spirit of passion, Don’t lose heart. Whoever aims for it, Touches the sky.
The effort is yours, Never forget your identity. In everyone’s eyes, Pakistan; Never forget that.)
Jazba-e-Junoon by Junoon

Through passion, courage and relentless pursuit, we can achieve anything — especially for our beloved nation Pakistan. That’s the gist of this famous anthem by Junoon, that gets everyone crazy with patriotic passion when it’s played in the stadium during cricket matches.

Without passion, there is no progress, whether it is in academics, sports, career or anything else. And no achievement has any meaning if it is only for our personal gain, without us giving something back to society and our country as a result.

No matter how well we do for ourselves – whether abroad or in Pakistan — if the country continues to face problems, attracts bad news coverage, and is looked down upon by others, we can never really bask in the glory of our success.

We are Pakistanis and we cannot truly prosper until Pakistan prospers. So let us not sit back and just blame all the woes on the system and government. Let us fix what we can right now, through our own positive efforts, and keep using our democratic rights until things are as we ‘imagined’.

And in the meantime, enjoy your Eid, with imagination and passion, channelled in the right direction.

Published in Dawn, Young World, April 13th, 2024