Malick Asghar Hashmi

As soon as I got off the train at Gaya - the land of Lord Vishnu and Buddha - my thoughts were about my friends. I was on my annual visit home to celebrate Eid with family and friends and had conjured up grand plans to invite my friends for dinner on Eid.

At home, I met my Abba and Amma; we spoke for about an hour. Meanwhile, the first rays of the sun touched the earth, and my brothers and nephews started returning home after offering Fajr prayers at the local mosque. As soon as I was done interacting with my family, I called my friend Kamal Nayan. A senior journalist with a newspaper, Kamal has late-night duties at work and, therefore, is a late riser.

I was so excited that I called him without realizing he must have been asleep.

"Have you come back from Delhi?" he asked me in a sleepy voice.

"Yes, I have come back, and probably, Eid will be on Monday. So, you have to come for lunch to my place. I am going to market in a while to prepare the feast."

Kamal quickly replied, "Listen, we are celebrating Chaiti Chhath (A Hindu festival celebrated in parts of Bihar). Plus, it’s Navratri too. I would not eat food from outside my home for ten days." He paused and said, "I will come to your house on Eid, but not eat. We will click a selfie and then leave for the office."

Happy faces: Roopak, Jitendra, Shivshankar, Vimlendu, Kamal Nayan at the party

I was shocked. How come I forgot about the Hindu festivals!

I realized that the festival of Navratri had begun, and during these nine days, my friends - all Hindus - abstained from meat, fish, and even garlic and onion in their food.

However, whenever I came home for Eid party became an occasion for our annual meet. We ate food and chatted for hours; I would be flooded with complaints, family talk, and discussions on politics. We laughed like small children over food and drinks. The party ended with us hugging each other and promising to meet at the next Eid Milan.

Since I left Gaya, four of my friends, including Prabhat Shandilya and Bhagwan Sribhaskar passed away. So, we all make sure the rest of us meet on some pretext or the other. The festivals are the best occasions for reunions.

When Kamal drew my attention towards Chaiti Chhath and Navratri, I was disappointed because I knew that the Eid party was not feasible. I know, under the circumstances, my friends would come and leave without eating food. I spoke to my wife, Gulrukh Zaheen, who teaches in a school in Gurugram, Haryana, about it.

Her suggestion opened my eyes. Later, my friends too were impressed. She suggested that it be a Navratri celebration on Eid. She made it sound so simple and yet classy!

I called Kamal: "Listen, we will celebrate Eid and only selfies will not do. There will be a party." I dropped the phone.

I called Vimlendu, Jitendra, Rupak, Balram Sharma, Lalji Babu, Pankaj Sinha, one by one. Everyone was excited and agreed to come over. One of my friends, Chandan, a former Editor of  Sahara newspaper' who works for a digital platform also happened to be in Gaya. He came to know about the Eid party from Rupak and invited himself.

Author with Chandan Lalji Prasad, Kamal Nayan, Roopak and Jitendra

After offering Eid Namaz at the local mosque, I ate a sumptuous breakfast comprising Seviyan, Dahi-Bhalla, and roti. Thereafter, I and my younger son went to the market to shop. After handing over the stuff to my wife, I started making seating arrangements for the guests.

I was expecting them to walk in by 2 pm. The first to arrive was Lalji Prasad, founder member of Janata Dal-United and a famous social worker. Soon others joined.

Nothing has changed among us. We were animatedly discussing the same old issues. We also spoke about friends who had left us. I also came to know about many influential personalities who had passed away since I last visited home. One of them was the founder of a reputed English school, which is now being run by a caretaker as his only son lives in America.

We were so engaged in talking that we didn’t realize several hours had passed. I was sure everyone was wondering what would be served for dinner.

Just then my younger son came into the room and said, “Mummy wants to know if she should serve food.”

I looked at my friends and smiled and said, “Yes, please bring it!”

There was silence in the room for a few seconds; probably it was the sense of discomfort or curiosity. My son brough glass bowls, spoons, chilled water bottles, and serving plates. Finally, bowls filled with various fruits—watermelon, banana, apple, kiwi, strawberry, papaya, black and green grapes, arrived.

I could see relief and happiness on the faces of all my friends. Someone excitedly said: "We will remember this Eid all our life - Eid in Navratri!”

We all ate a fruity meal, hugged and applied perfume to each other; we chatted for some more time. Vimlendu clicked pictures. He freelances for several TV channels.

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As we walked out of the party room, Kamal Nayan softly said, "Chaiti Chhath is being celebrated at home. The whole family has come. You must come home on April 4. Younger brother Neelu's son works in Gurugram, he also wants to meet you."

Soon everyone left. This was the most memorable Eid party for me.