When Eid Is Nearing....

Eid is most treasured when you are being surrounded by family My siblings, mum and cousins - grandma's house in Rembau, Negeri Sembilan. Life was simpler then, my sisters and I had our own happy memories of Eid.

My traditional, wooden, "grandeur" grandma's house in Rembau, Negeri Sembilan - I had memorable childhood Eid celebrations when grandma was around.

Eid is nearing. Ramadhan is leaving in a few days. I am still here. Stuck in the city. Eid preparation is nil for this year. That's why at this stage, I have only posted one recipe of Eid biscuit. For the whole month of Ramadhan, I was tired with work. Things did not go smoothly. I totally forgot about celebrating Eid. I bought flours and ingredients for baking cookies, but I was so lethargic during the day, that I ended up not baking anything. Prices of food stuffs have risen so much that I don't have the mood to celebrate Eid. Money for the day is a just a piece of paper, it has no value at all- as prices of every day's provisions have gone up to the ceiling (for me, as far as I am concerned). Sometimes, I feel that we have gone "material" these modern days. Whatever happens to simplistic values, the days when we don't really judge people for their materials and wealth but their own virtues and behaviour. When we can have a simple Eid, without splurging our money. To me, Eid is better spent when you are surrounded with your beloved family members. I remembered when I was small, having two elder sisters was really fun. We would have squabbles whenever we were baking Eid's biscuits, and it was really a team work. One would look after the oven, one would roll the cookie dough and I would do all the garnishings. Now, I would only bake alone in the kitchen, there's no one to share my story of the day, and I ended up being bored at times. Some of the days, I would transport myself back to my childhood Eid's celebrations - when my grandma was around- the days when she cooked beef rendang and lemang to perfection, when she would baked her melt- in- the- mouth marble cake. When she would be all smiles seeing us, the grandchildren spending the first day of Eid with her. My sisters and I would arrange the cookies in the cookies' tray and set up all the cutleries needed. My late maternal grandma stayed in the kampung (village) and she did not have all the fine chinas such as Noritake , Doultons or Albert. There were just simple china made in CHINA. But what I treasured most was the love that she had for her many grandchildren, the intense preparations that she did to celebrate Eid. The idea of her being all zest and active to bake cakes and cooked rendang, so that her grandchildren would have food to eat. That's the best memory of her that I could treasure, it showed from the way she cooked her food. They were definitely dishes of love. As for me, I would never have that kind of Eid anymore. I have learnt to spend Eid in someone's city or someone's kampung (village), but it would definitely not be the same. I am a proud kampung/ village girl, even if some of my students thought that I am from the city of Kuala Lumpur.(chuckles).... My kampung would always be in my heart and my childhood Eid celebrations with my siblings and late maternal grandmother would always be etched in my mind. The best Eid was definitely when I was small and young, having my siblings and beloved grandma around. Remembering you with love, grandma. Alfatihah....