In all the years I have been here in Bahrain, I have celebrated Eid only once. The 3 days holiday which comes with the first Eid has been a lure to escape to summer heat. It was the same this year, and the only festive event I could be part of was Gergaoon a week before my trip to Scandinavia. Now, what is this is a celebration all about. In the good old days children take to the streets laden with bags and drums as they tour in quest for Gergaoon, namely delicious confectioneries, crunchy edible seeds and halwa.

Bahrain Fort was kind enough to lend its premises for the function. We landed up there early and found the staff testing their speakers and finalizing the seating arrangements. So we had a good hour of time to explore the fort in the night. Suddenly out of the blue, a bus load of exchange students swarmed the site breaking the otherwise peaceful atmosphere.

The loudspeakers started playing some local tunes and we knew it was time to head back down. We grabbed ourselves one of the cushion squares and watched the families stroll in.  Children decked up in new and colorful attires took their place near the stage where games were organised and gifts distributed.

The same night after I reached home, I heard the sound of tambourine’s from the street. The kids from my area in downtown Manama where out and about going from shop to shop collecting some small token money.