Ramzan

The holy month of Ramadan (Ramzan) is due to begin tomorrow. It was supposed to start today, but last night, “No-one sighted the moon in the sky” (Bangladesh Observer, Wednesday, 5 October 2005). So it’s starting tomorrow.

I am curious about this month. I have never witnessed a 145 million person (give or take a few Hindus) fast.

To remain respectful of the tradition yet maintain my regular routine is going to be a tricky endeavour for me. Of course, I’m not going to be stuffing my face in front of anyone, but even things like having a cup of tea or drinking water at work - things that I don’t actually associate with eating, yet are part of my normal day - are forbidden. (Actually, even swallowing one’s saliva is forbidden – during daylight hours – a fact that I learnt recently, although I imagine this is rather difficult to police. I reckon I could sneak a few of those in and no one would even notice.

Whilst it will be an interesting experience, I can’t say I’m actually looking forward to Ramadan. My life centres around food and drink so much that I’m scared I’m going to put my foot in it and do something really inappropriate, like yell out at one o’clock, “I’m STARVING! I’m going home to have lunch!” or “Mijan, cha dao!” (Mijan, bring me tea!).

I’m eagerly looking forward to the time when we can all eat openly with each other again (although I dare say that the Muslim population is looking forward to it slightly more than I am!).