Ramadhan

Meshary Al Arada

Masha'Allah, May Allah grant him paradise

Garangao/Qaranqao

Garanga3o garga3o
3a6una Allah y36i kom
beit mkka yiwadikom...

It is the middle of the blessed month, Ramadhan, a time that maybe insignificant anywhere but in Qatar. As children on this night every year we have expereinced the celebaration of what may be called the "Khaleeji halloween". These nights are indeed special and tacitly celeberated with passion by elders,youth and children of the Khaleej. As a part of this celeberation children sing the 'Garanga3o' song, they sing it for the household members who are expecting visits from diverse groups of children. The household members, usually the women prepare a day in advance for this night with thier large sacks of sweets, peanuts, walnuts, ground nuts and every other seed one can think of subsuming a small toy or a small amont of money as a gift. Children gather with eager and excitement and hurrily commence on a "nutting night out" from one door to another with the magical co-ordination of the harmoniously vocalized sounds resounding in the hearts of the neighbourhoods . By the end of the night they bring home different types of seed fruits, sweets, and gifts ranging from original to commercial, enjoying the kernel of thier effort by sharing thier collections with one another.

What goes unnoticed is the transperancy of the likeness of this tradition, like halloween this Gulf tradition is not only centered around the subjects of children, sweets, gifts and to a certain extent commercialisation, but also the phonetic transcription of the word 'halloween' sounds very much if not exactly like 'hilween' in the Qatari-khaleeji slang dialect and 'halawa' in the standard Arabic language respectively meaning 'sweet ones' and 'sweet' or 'goody'. This transparent interconnection between the Pagan American and the Islamic Arab spirits of festivity leaves a cultural trajectile both crossing at the point of 'sweetness' and prolongs back to thier own aesthetic realms.

Bismillah, Walhamdulilah Wallahu Akbar...

The bell has rung
The sky has changed its veil
A different blue, tacit red and vivid green
Allah has commanded the mashriq and maghrib
to endure like it has never been seen
Deep oceans have echoed out a cool breeze
Trees, rocks and mountains obey firmly
The moon smiles to the new veil
the stars sparkle for what they mean
the sun shines and the rest performs accordingly
Wishing you all Ramadhan Kareem

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