Eid al-Adha 2022: Mumbai’s Muslim community brings in close-knit celebrations with family, biryani and happiness

For Arshad Shaikh, this Bakri Eid is going to be different, especially because he will be celebrating it with his father in Mumbai after 2019. "During the Covid-19 pandemic, we moved back to our hometown in Bihar and were living there," he says. The fact that the last two years have not been the best for most people is known and that meant that even Shaikh's family didn't celebrate it like they always do because of the lack of funds for the festival. Now that things are better, they are getting back to celebrating it in a small way with close family. "I have returned after completing my master's degree in history at Jamia Millia only two weeks ago and my sister is also back after completing her studies," adds the 23-year-old Thane resident, who has a family of seven.

Even though the festival's celebrations aren't set to be a big one, it is slowly returning to normal for many Muslims in Mumbai, who have missed enjoying Bakri Eid with their family and friends in the last two years. While it started in a small way with Ramzan Eid, Bakri Eid is going to be a feast for many like Shaikh in the city. As the community brings in the festival on July 10 this year, three Mumbaikars revealed the preparations and celebrations to Mid-day Online.

Back home for celebrations
Being one of them, Shaikh is visibly looking forward to celebrating with his family. His housing society has made arrangements to carry out the ritual of sacrificing the goat and will indulge in extensive spread of delicacies. He explains, "We will obviously have mutton biryani and other meats at home to celebrate. Apart from that, since we are from Bihar, my mother will be making Bihari kebabs, which is a delicacy. Later in the evening, I will be meeting my friends, since I haven't met them for a long time and we will enjoy a barbecue meal."

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It is no different for Dr Nimmi Ansari, who like Shaikh, will also be celebrating the festival at home after a long time. The South Mumbai resident from Agripada has been away from home studying for her master's degree. While she says it will not be a huge celebratory deal, she adds that there will definitely be a celebration and buzz around the house with the festive spirit. "Since I have been away from home, the last two years have been quite different. This year, I wouldn't mind waking up for all the shenanigans and staying with family," she explains.

While the day will start with praying the Eid namaz at Ansari's house, she also hopes to collect Eidi from her elders, even though her father says she's too old to collect it, the 26-year-old jokes. It is known that a festival in India is incomplete without food and so the Ansari household will begin the day with their annual specials. "We will start with a sweet sewai and dahi vada and while we will be quite full, we will always be ready for Eid ki biryani, made by mum and sisters," she says confidently, clearly indicating how much she has missed home and her mother's food.

Finding joy with family
Celebrating festivals are incomplete without family and Shaima Roghay also feels the same. "My cousins and close family members come at my place on Eid and we have lunch together. We also get this local chana batata guy to deliver a huge order at home because all of us love it. We don't celebrate it in a big way as such but we do celebrate it with a big family," shares Roghay. It is also the reason why the last two years have been difficult for the South Mumbai resident. "With the lockdown restrictions going down, it's definitely easier and not scary to step out of home to meet family. In the last two years, we've had less family come over, so hoping this year we can all catch up and make up for the last two years," she adds.

While biryani is going to definitely be there on the menu, Roghay says the menu in her house is quite spontaneous and will have a variety of other dishes. "Either my mom will make mutton gravy called kadda gosht, which has been passed down to her by my nani (grandmother) or if we have too much work, and more family come over, we give the local caterer some of the meat to make lunch for us. It will either be a spicy mutton gravy or raan biryani and that's what we serve to everyone," shares 21-year-old Roghay.