The arabic song

[audio:arabicsong.mp3]

This song has been around for as long as I can remember – even my dad said that he’s been hearing it since his youth. And yet it still sounds evergreen.

Every ramadan, the radio will play this right after the evening prayer announcement. So every time our family break our fast together, we’d hear this song.

When I listen to it, I do get nostalgic sometimes.

I started fasting since young. My parents would wake me up at an insane time before dawn and persuaded me eat something. I was supposed to not consume any food or water. Since I was just beginning, I started with just half a day.

As some years passed by, I fasted for longer and longer till I managed to complete a complete day. At the age of 9, I was really proud of myself. I was part of the ‘big people’.

Of course as a kid, there were days when I cheated. As a kid, I went to religious classes at the mosque. My peers taught me to drink the water that was meant to be for our ablution (Haha. Naughty naughty) and sometimes at home, I would peek into the fridge and pop something in my mouth when I thought no one was watching.

Ahhh … Those were the days.

To me, fasting is a spiritual activity which tests the human endurance and heightens the level of empathy towards the less fortunate.

And I feel blessed to be able to break my fast with my family to sit, talk and eat together as compared to the regular days when everyone is doing their own thing.

Perhaps I’m feeling nostalgic because I realise that there is nothing that would last forever. One day perhaps, my siblings will leave the nest to get married or to persue their own goals. And though my parents arent so aged, we all know that we are not meant to last.

Even the radio station is considering of changing the arabic song to something more modern.

We should enjoy and appreciate what we have right now.

Its now the 7th day of fasting and another 24 more days to go.