More than 200 women and children gathered at St Michael’s Rectory in Bedford to celebrate Chand Raat. The event was organized by the Ladies of the Pakistani Association of Boston. Muneeza Nasrullah, one of the organizers said “This is an open event and we invite all who want to partake in the Eid celebrations”. “Although”, she added with a smile “The only restriction is, it is a ladies only event”

So what is Chand Raat all about? “Chand Raat, which means 'night of the moon' in the Urdu/Hindi language, marks the end of Ramadan and the start of Eid ul Fitr. Said Munezza “The festival is an opportunity for families to get together, do their Eid shopping and eat delicious food. The community groups and individuals place stalls for clothes, jewelry, henna, bangles, and many other traditional items”. True to the nature of the event, Ayeesha Anwar sold bangles, religious CD’s and shawls for the attendees. So did Sanober of Lexington who along with her mother in law displayed some beautiful bangles and traditional salwar kameez. Mahim, a dentist from New York looking stunning in a black and red churidar kameez performed two Bollywood medleys and motivated other dancers to join in. A delicious dinner was served along with the traditional kulfi and falooda as dessert.It was a day of joyous celebration of happy faces enjoying a degree of freedom and movement in a fun environment.

Finally the organizers added,”Our goal is to share our rich cultural heritage with our children and members of our community”. Rehana, one of the children at the show remarked, “It is a lot of fun, dressing up and coming here. I always look forward to this day” And sure enough it was reflected in the faces of the people at the event.

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