‘I don't buy new clothes for Eid’

Eid day is always a different day for me. This is the special day when I love to take a rest and get respite from the regular hectic schedule.    

On Eid days, my day starts with the prayers. Then, I go directly to the graveyard where my father and mother were buried for dua. 

In the past, soon after my marriage, I fell into trouble. Following my marriage, I had to have lunch twice at the same time: one at the mother's house in Gulshan and the other at my father-in-law's house in Banani. 

I had to go to my father-in-law's house with my wife. There, I had to tell a lie that I have not had lunch yet. I had to swallow forcibly. This was very tough and interesting at the same time.  

However, both my mother and mother-in-law have passed away. Now, I spend the whole day at my house in Gulshan with my family members. 

Before the inception of the pandemic, I attended social events like going to Ganabhaban–the Prime Minister Residence– on the occasion of the Eid celebration. However, since last year, the programme has been cancelled. 

I do not want to think about my business for a single moment on Eid day- I shy away from all kinds of business-related matters. 

About food, I am a bit selective on Eid day. For breakfast, I love porota and beef. In the lunch menu, my most favourite dish is morog polau. 

I came to Dhaka as a three-month-old baby and was raised here. I have celebrated nearly all of my Eid in Dhaka. 

However, I have never traveled outside of the country to celebrate Eid. I had to travel abroad for business and thus be present there on Eid.

Once my exhibition was running in Paris and I had to be there then. One of my friends Shahidul lived there in Paris, he and I said a prayer in Paris. I had to travel abroad on Eid a few times.

As I was raised in a well-to-do family, I never had much interest in buying new clothes on the occasion of Eid. 

Markets and shopping malls are swarmed with shoppers on the eve of Eid. People from all walks of life who have received bonuses go shopping. I do not want to make the place more crowded because I dislike throngs of people myself.

Even I told my family members to make way for the common people so that these people can buy new clothes on this auspicious occasion. 

I always encourage my family members not to go shopping before Eid. I can buy clothes the whole year and so why will I make crowds at a time when people are shopping cheerfully? But I enjoy seeing people doing shopping before Eid.  

I am happiest when I see my staff and employees going shopping and purchasing new clothes.

Faruque Hassan is the president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA)