Eid Mubarak! Poem by Anil Kumar

Eid Mubark!



I have grown up

Hearing of and watching Eid celebrations

Tens and thousands of believers, clad in white,

In supplication to Allah

Offering the Namaz in neat rows in streets, in Idgahs

And happy people in embraces

Wishing each other the happiness, joy and grace of Eid

Children asking for their Eidi

And running around in glee

And elders feasting after long days of fasting-

A state of supreme bliss, peace and gaiety.



And how often have I yearned to be

A part of all this!

To be able to wish my brothers in God

A happy Eid!

To embrace them and to be embraced

To greet them and to be greeted

To partake the feast

Having legitimately earned it by fasting.

How much have I longed to hear and understand

The word of God as revealed to the Prophet

So that I could love and accept my brothers better

So that they could do the same to me.



But alas I know only as much as I have

Seen or read on TV and in films or stories.

Have been grateful to Prem Chand, Sharat Chandra and Ruskin Bond

And the likes of them

For taking me into the worlds of Hamid, Gafur and Ali

And the likes of them.

Have heard from a distance

About the life of the venerable Rasul

About the various ways in which the faith has unfolded

Visited Imambaras, paid obeisance at holy dargahs and mosques

And made an occasional friend among the faithful

Savoured the seiveins offered with love and joy by them.



Yet why is it that there is this feeling of being distant and different

The feeling of ‘they not being of us' and 'I not being one of them'?

Why is it that a faith that is more than a thousand years old in this land

Is still not understood and accepted well enough

The faith that has given us simplicity, equality, Sufism, Seers, Saints

And of course the Taj, the arts, crafts, music among others?



When will real Eid happen for me and countless others like me

All over the world?