«We meet»

Between «Threadin»

Dr. Parwin Habib

18 April 2023

It is not an escape from reality, nor nostalgia when I say that I deeply miss the old customs and rituals of Ramadan, and I am not one of those who beautify the past with its difficulties and troubles, at the expense of the present with its technology that has made many things easier for us in life, but reality has its word.

I feel that I have lived multiple Ramadans, each of which has its rituals and customs, and shares one point, that all of them do not resemble what we are living now, as Ramadan childhood in our old house with stairs in "Manama", had its unmistakable flavor by celebrating Ramadan clothing, nor the ear with the sounds of the Qur'an emanating from minarets, nor the nose with the smells of trays moving from house to house, on top of which is harissa and thread.

I remember until now the first day of his silence when I was nine years old, when I returned from school thirsty, and went directly to the refrigerator to find my mother an impregnable barrier between us, saying to me with the mother's tenderness and skill: There are only a few hours left, come help me distribute the food and then read a little bit of the Qur'an, and it was a successful recipe that I overcame what was left until the time of breaking the fast. Since childhood, I still keep in my head the voice of my father praying and reading the Qur'an slowly, which the years have not erased.

As for Ramadan youth, television - watching at home or presenting programs - had the largest share, as I was associated with this holy month with the voice of Yasmine Khayyam, singing "Muhammad, O Messenger of God", and the cute lessons of the literary Sheikh Ali Al-Tantawi, who answers with wit on serious religious issues. Even drama had its flavor: one series that we do not get distracted by dozens of series in hundreds of channels, as we are today, before which our appetite for following Fawazeer Ramadan Nelly or the lover of our youth Sherihan. When I entered the university, the month of mercy became divided for me between lessons and cultural activities, and presenting a daily competition program called "Think and Win" with a colleague of mine at Bahrain TV on the old national theater, which was previously called Cinema of Andalusia.

I still take out Ramadan days spent with my family in Bahrain; for me, this month is "Friday" at a Ramadan table and rituals that I miss now! I only see her in a city like Cairo, with her hustle and bustle, her "windows" and her joyful celebration of Ramadan, so she too especially for an annual visit, except rarely, to relive with her the manifestations of her killers, Ramadan tents, the smoke of hookahs and the means of communication that made us a parallel virtual world.

Between Thread Ramadan, Thread Twitter and its sisters sided strongly with the former.

• Even the drama had its flavor: one series that we do not get distracted by dozens of people like today, before which our appetite for follow-up opens, Ramadan riddles by Nelly, or the adoration of our youth Sherihan.

@DrParweenHabib1

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