Wanti-Wanti Waleh: bakrid in Bangalore.

India.

I can't tell you exactly what enchants me about the country. Perhaps it is that there is so much about it that to me is unknown. Certainly, I've always been drawn to the colour, the music, the food and the overwhelming history that the country holds. In some way, I hope that living abroad, looking at the stars from a different angle, will help me on my journey. And after living for 2 years here I started liking Bangalore, a crowded city with broken sidewalks and neverending traffic. It's difficult to give a proper impression of this place. It's a cacophony of noise, a blend of smells, and so many new experiences as medical student that I'm exhausted by the end of the day. I celebrated my third Bakrid here on Tuesday (Mangaloreans celebrated on Monday), and it worth sharing with others.

In Bangalore as in other parts of Karnataka, this day dawns with the resounding of Thakbir (Allahu Akbar), the declaration that God is great. We wake up with the spirit of sacrifice and festivity. Most of the students dress themselves in their best attire and reciting the Thakbir, proceed to the praying site which is the college old library set apart for Bakrid prayers. The whole atmosphere is filled with the resonance of "Allahu-Akbar". The Assembly then prepares for the congregational prayer led by Mustaqim, the 3rd semester student . After the ceremonial Id prayer, the representative addresses the devotees, exhorting us to be conscious of our duties to God and follow the example of Abraham. It's a very exciting celebration, with about 130 new students joining us this semester.

After that, we gathered in the lecture hall to hear a talk by invited speakers, Brother Shariff Omar and Brother Ghauraf Ahmed . Brother Ghauraf Ahmed was a revert, he was a Hindu before embracing shahadah. Both of them were thorough with Islam and they gave their views about how to apply the religion in our life. They also discussed about terrorism, answering the question from audience who wanted to know their opinion about current Mumbai attack. Enough of religious talk, we later presented with few nasyeed songs from a group of students. It's quite entertaining and most of us have a good time listening to doctors-to-be singing their heart loud with melodious nasyeed composed by Shah Izrul, a first year student who lead the group. The ceremony ended with us savoring ourself with scrumptious meal from the FoodBay (but many were not satisfied with the quantity in each serving). Makan banyaklah you people!

This Bakrid many of us did our korban, which cost just rs1050 for one part of cow. 90 cows were slaughtered and the meats were distributed to poor people. We did received a small portion of it (which means weeks of eating beef for dinner [I still have my portion in the refrigerator till date]).