‘I used to spend Eid days with spinning tops and kites’
"One thing I liked very much about Eid as a child- hugs after the prayer. I liked to hug adults. I felt a little older then"
A large part of my childhood was spent in the village. I celebrated many Eid days there. The name of my village is Pingalakathi, which is in Barisal. The first thing that comes to my mind remembering the Eid celebration in the village is- bathing in the river in the morning.
The river Arial Khan flows through our Pingalakathi village. I used to go down to that river before sunrise on Eid day. We ended bathing when the sun rose. Then I used to go to perform Eid prayers with my father KM Abdul Karim. My eyes sparked with joy.
At that time I was known as Shamim to everyone as it is my nickname. I was very fond of my father. I used to be with my father all the time. I think my father loved me a little more than my other siblings.
As a child, I used to spend Eid days with spinning tops and kites. I used to walk around the whole village with these two things in my hand. On Eid days there was no pressure to study.
I was born in Dhaka. Later I went to the village with my family. I went to a village school from class five to ten. Then I came back to Dhaka again.
So from a very young age to my adolescence, I grew up in the soil of the village. Eid in villages is really different. We did not have ready-made dresses there at that time. Local tailors made our dresses. It was a matter of great excitement.
We used to start counting days from the middle of Ramadan for our new dresses. We waited eagerly to go to buy clothes, give measurements to the tailor. With the Eid dresses in hand, all the questions, all the excitement would flow in our bodies with joy.
Another thing I liked very much about Eid as a child- hugs after the prayer. I liked to hug adults. I felt a little older then.
I have not visited the village for a long time. Now I am not going outside due to the pandemic. When there was no Covid-19, I had to do shooting till the day before the Eid. So there was little chance for me to visit the village. But I miss my village and my childhood very much.
Mosharraf Karim is a popular actor in Bangladesh
