The 'cultural centre'.

Idd and especially the one after Ramadhan is one for merry making and eating because 30 days of fasting is major and a lot of people look forward to this idd to celebrate and make merry.

As expected I had plans and by plans I mean going to eat cake and trying to cook kaimatis and mahamris, I even had gone out and bought most of the ingredients but my uncle my mum’s elder brother (may Allah grant him Jannah) passed on a few days to Idd and come Idd day I couldn’t bring myself to do anything celebratory. I went for the prayers and did nothing much after.Trust me nobody understands/remembers how heavy their heart and mind gets when you lose a loved one,it's such sadness and grief that words can't explain sometimes even you as a person underestimate how much this weighs on you.The words of Chimamanda have never been truer.......

He wanted to wait a few days before replying to her but he found himself that night in his study writing her a long e-mail about the death of his mother. ’I never thought she would die until she died’.I have discovered that grief doesn’t dim with time; it was instead a volatile state of being.Sometimes the pain was as abrupt as it was the day her house help called him sobbing to say she was lying unbreathing on her bed, other times he forgot that she had died and would make cursory plans about flying to the east to see her’-Americanah

This year’s Idd was really sad for me but I couldn’t help noticing everyone with their new clothes and all and kids and new toys-I thought idd was clothes and shoes only, now even new toys or always there were toys just that I did not notice.Also Garowe is pretty good when it comes to Idd prayers because for so long as there is quorum the Imam will lead a prayer for you,so very slim chances of anyone missing Idd prayers and get this they start praying as early as 7.30 AM-the earlier the prayer,the earlier the feasting begins.

Idd came and wrapped and I went back to my routine life because really when you live alone and far away from home, idd for most of it, is a day like any-other and falling back into  'normal routine' is real easy because you were never out of it but then two things happened a friend called two days after idd and told me about this new place that opened on Idd night and the way we should go and check it out but I wasn’t too keen.

The second thing happened and it was this picture.....................

Ladies who were hostesses on the opening night of the 'cultural centre'

A girl at the office shows some guys this picture and they are discussing it and she jokingly goes like
'Jama Wallahi you missed,these girls during opening night, their sole role was to serve old men' and If only I could record how his faced looked, so disappointed like he had missed this huge chance. Then same girl shows us some TV clippings of the opening night of this joint,apparently the place is a big deal and we decide to go.

We all agree to go after work because some people wanted to go after Maghrib and others read me thought it was good to go after Asr(because we need light to take pictures ::-) ) and therefore we agreed to go at around 5 that way we all get what we want,daylight and early evening.

The signage of this new joint

The new place is some sort of a cultural centre that is upcoming because I think it still has  quite a bit to do before it is a real cultural centre. They have a playground for children with swings, a see-saw and toy cars-huge toy cars but their biggest win I think is their restaurant because of location, ambience and food.

Somali huts

The playground

Location

The spring at Daryell

It’s located along a spring that is so scenic and the girls here don’t play when it comes to looking pretty both in person and in pictures  because they carry change of clothes to this place so that they look most beautiful for pictures.

'He had first been excited by Facebook,ghosts of old friends suddenly morphing to life with wives and husbands and children,and photos trailed by comments.But he began to be appalled by the air of unreality,the careful manipulation of images to create a parallel life.pictures that people had taken with Facebook in mind,placing in the background things of which they were proud'-Americanah (yes to some Chimamanda wisdom)

The number of girls that were taking pictures here!!!!!!

Word of advise(to myself mostly): Do not let FB or any social media pictures lie to you. People are carrying bags full of clothes,mirrors and make-up to make sure they look put together for the pictures they post there and before posting they filter and edit(I know the irony of me saying this in a blog that is also some sort of social media) but most of what goes onto people’s online profiles is them show-casing their best side don’t think ‘I am doing so badly’ based on comparisons drawn from social media.

Ambiance

The lights in the trees

They have this out-door sitting arrangement with a view of either the water or trees,whatever suits your fancy and there is loads of trees and they are planting  more, It feels like being in this fancy garden and we were there until it was dark and they have lights in the trees :-) :-).I really liked these lights (the villager in me).

Food

:-) :-)

We all really loved the food but then I don’t eat out much and can’t be an authority on how better it is than for other places, they serve generous portions,have this epic bas-bas(home-made chilli) to go with it and the rest of the people I was with swore it is better than all the other big restaurants in the town and from the few times I have eaten out they aren’t priced too badly.

So how this changes my 'normal routine' I have found some place to go hang out :-) :-).