October 4th begins Ramadan...

I've been meaning to write about this for a while now, but always delayed it coz I thought it would make more sense when it nears the actual time. There's still some time to go, but a warning (or klnowledge) 15 days ahead, ain't a very bad idea, I think.

October 4 begins the one-month long Ramadan period. Some call it Ramzaan too. In Qatar, they call it Ramadan.

It's a little different, but it signifies exactly what Lent for Christians does - to give up what you love for 40 days, so that the money you save from it can be useful to someone who is desperately in need of it. Sure, Lent's been corrupted. people vow that for 40 days they won't eat non-veg, and instead drink twice the amount of alcohol those evenings. It defeats the entire purpose.

Anyway, Ramadan on the other hand prohibits Muslims from eating or drinking anything at all, absolutely nothing, not even water till the Sun is still shining - till sunset.

So basically, they're supposed to hog the minute the mosques call out that the sun has set and they can start eating, and can eat till the sun rises again.

It goes on for a month, and soon after a month begins Eid - a time when Qatar stops functioning. Across Qatar, it's a three-day break.

The Arabs, the Qataris, they say, are extra nice to you during the Ramadan month. The joke here is, they make up for the 11 months of rudeness and arrogance during this one month.

The cheapo expats, some of them, after their work hours go and stand outside mosques and queue up alongwith beggars because apparently the rich Arabs sometimes hand out 100, 200, 300 even 500 riyals rather casually after praying.

In the mornings, all the shops, eateries, everything is shut. Absolutely shut.

Even I, not being a Muslim, am not allowed to drink water, eat food, or even chew gum or smoke a ciggarette, in public.

Some might say, that's crazy. Why should I be forced to do all this? Well, I think it's really just out of respect. It's really common courtesy. Imagine a thirsty person watching you drink cold water when he can't drink it.

So basically, they say, fine, you wanna drink, eat, do whatever the hell you wanna do, but do it behind closed doors. Hide and do whatever. Don't show it off. That's fair, I think.

After sunset though the country is really in a festive mood, I've heard. All shops are open till really late, people are out eating their brains out, hogging, there are Iftar parties... the works basically.

Well, no matter how stupid it sounds, I'm kinda excited with Ramadan just a few days away. It'll be fun.

It'll be different. It'll be knowing something new, witnessing something new. A memory, for life.