Shortly after I arrived in Bangladesh, a season of different holidays began. The first was Durga Puja, arguably one of the most important of the Hindu faith, which was shortly followed by Eid al-Adza (the Eid of Sacrifice), one of the most important Muslim holidays. A few days ago it was Diwali, the festival of lights, another Hindu holiday, and Friday this week it is the Muslim New Year, Muharram. And let's of course not forget Halloween!
The hardest one as a vegetarian was certainly Eid al-Adza, a solemn holiday, also known as Qurbani, or "slaughter", during which most families slaughter a goat or cow. Consequently all over the city on this day there were animals that had been slaughtered in a halal way and were left to bleed out. It has deep religious significance and is an important tenet of the Muslim faith, but I made a conscious decision not to go out on that day. I could see enough evidence of it from my bedroom window!
On a lighter note, Durga Puja was full of dance parties and celebrations and Halloween gave me an opportunity to meet more of the expat crowd here in Dhaka and help pass out candy. I gave out Angry Birds candies and saw some adorable kids.
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