‘Chaand Raat’ at Jeddah’s ‘Little Pakistan’
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“Chaand raat” (the night of the moon) is a term used exclusively for the night before Eid, when the new moon heralds the end of Ramadan and the arrival of the Eid festivities.
It is a night celebrated with great enthusiasm in Pakistan, when thousands of people throng the marketplace buying last-minute items, especially glass bangles, and eating sweet paan (betel leaf).
But thanks to the commercialization of Eid, “chaand raat” arrives in Jeddah’s “Little Pakistan” (Kababish) at least 10 days before Eid. A world of color, noise and enthusiasm opens up in the streets. This year there seem to be even greater numbers of stalls selling bangles, henna and readymade outfits.
“Shalwar suits for SR30” shouted a man standing on the street and pointing to his wares, neatly hung on a makeshift carousel. “Will it be cheaper tomorrow?” a woman asked him and he replied, “Yes, I will have a special sale on Ramadan 31.” Of course Ramadan only has 30 days.
“I wait deliberately till the last day to buy bangles for my daughters,” said Rafia, a Pakistani woman. “I want my children to feel the excitement of ‘chaand raat’ — the crowd, the noise. Only in Kababish do you feel that Eid is coming. Saudi Arabia is so quiet otherwise during this time.”
Khurram, a 10th-grader at the Pakistan Embassy School, had his glass bangles and costume jewelry spread out on a little table. “I made a profit of SR160 yesterday, and business is even better today,” he said.
Najeeb was trying his luck selling henna cones. “I made SR1,200 in one night in Riyadh last year. I hope to do better this year.” Najeeb said that his aunt, who came for Umrah, brought him a suitcase full of henna from Pakistan. “They cost 10 rupees in Karachi, and I sell them for SR5, which is 500 percent.”
Hassan Ali, a second-year student at the Pakistan Embassy School, said that he had been putting up a stall of fashion accessories and bangles for several years now. It always did great business. “Now there is lot of competition, but a lot of Saudis are also visiting Kababish now. I think they enjoy the atmosphere and do a lot of shopping.”
A commerce student, Ali said he learned a lot of valuable lessons. “All small items have a fixed price. But on the big jewelry sets, we read the customers and then put up a price. We usually get the best prices from Saudi customers.”
Rashid did not seem to have a lot of customers. He was selling Eid cards. “Thanks to Yahoo, the card business has really gone down,” he said. “But I still manage to sell a few. Eid cards are still popular with the older generation and some young ones who like to give presents with a card to their loved ones.”
No “chaand raat” is complete without eating some paan and a nice cup of Kashmiri chai at Mehran, both available as plentifully in this remarkable corner of Jeddah as they are in downtown Karachi.
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