Eid Mubarak
Eid-ul-fitr marks the end of Ramadhan and the beginning of Shawwal. Eid is celebrated after the sighting of the new moon on the preceding nightfall. In Mauritius searching for the new moon is usually done at Albion.
While fasting, we eat or drink nothing, including water, from dawn to dusk. Fasting is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. All able Muslims take part in fasting from about age twelve. If one has got health problems, fasting is not considered to be obligatory.
Fasting serves many purposes. While we are hungry and thirsty, we are reminded of the suffering of the poor. Fasting is also an opportunity to practice self-control and to cleanse the body and mind.
Ramadhan is a great philosophy, a gift of Islam to the rest of the world -- reminding not merely Muslims, but all people, of our mutual obligation to aid those who live with poverty and suffering. It reminds us that we must work together to build a more humane world.
During the month of Ramadhan, we are advised to pay zakaat, a sum of money which the rich gives to the poor to help alleviate poverty. In this new age, income tax serves the same purpose as zakaat. The shariah law as regards to the economy has just reached Mauritius through Islamic banking.
The way fasting is observed in Ramadhan is also used as a tool by many through ‘hunger strike’. Many have been able to make great power crack down by way of this tool. Even in Mauritius this tool has been used by many.
Childhood obesity is on the rise worldwide. Overweight children are at risk for and susceptible to diseases that were once only limited to adults (such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and other ailments). Fasting is a way to combat obesity. During other month one should keep in mind the following quote from the Qur’an S20,V81: "Eat of the good things We have provided for your sustenance, but commit no excess therein..."
At Eid-ul-Fitr we dress in our finest clothes, give treats to children, and enjoy visits with friends and family.
Although charity and good deeds are at all times imperative in Islam, they have particular significance at the end of Ramadan.
Vermicel and briani are among the favourite dish on Eid.
Eid Mubarak to you all!:-)
Mauritius' first olympic medal
Bruno, nicknamed the Mauritian magician by the English commentators brought our first Olympic medal home. In the semi-final of the -54kg, Bruno was defeated by only 2 marks. Yet, he remains a champion for Mauritius for he made history. Congrats to all our sport’s star – tephan, eric, etc… .. .
cell phone
Low price and prepaid services have been the two main agents amongst many to cause a high infiltration of the cellular phone in Mauritius (thanks to people who uses multiple sim cards). Phones are showing up in children’s pockets at earlier ages. Many kids are by now, in tenure of a handset. To be a spotlight for these youngsters, businesses set forward portable phones at squat prices, free sim cards, facility to recharge account with a lesser amount of money, etc,… .. .
A cell phone with all add-ons at hand provides round the clock communication. The mobile phone has indeed crafted our daily and nightly life. We can get in touch with links wherever we are. Mull over the example where students are out till late because of tuition. More often than not, parents are worried when their ward reaches home behind schedule. This fret escalates in wintry weather in that it turns out to be murky somewhat earlier. By getting in touch with their child in such situation, parents are to some extent comforted. The cell phone is an integral part amongst many of us today.
However, in the same way as drug which is to be used for a good purpose has been exploited in a negative way by some people, cell phone also can be utilized adversely.
Cell phones used by kids should allow responsible party to monitor the phone remotely. Parents should be able to track their ward’s cell phone through a GPS function, to block certain numbers, limit text messages, monitor credit, etc,…
This advance in technology would have been a plus point towards a finer use of the portable cell phone.
CJSOI Seychelles 2008
Yuppie Yuppy, we are the champ.
With 24 gold, 23 silver, and 17 bronze medals, Mauritius is the winner of the CJSOI Seychelles 2008.
In Football, we were the victor at Linité stadium in the final against Mayotte, despite having been reduced to 10 in the second half.
Congrats to all.!:-)
Changing Taste
I am probing the 3 essential needs – food, clothing, and shelter – to write a post about shifting taste.
To begin with, is there a variation amid basic needs (necessities) and luxury goods?
The justification may fluctuate. As exemplar, let’s take someone living in a sizzling province; say any country on the equator. There, a product like a space heater is more a luxury than necessity. The same applies in Mauritius, where a heater can be defined as comfort. Now, let’s experiment arctic sections. The same heater is requisite.
Difference between opulent and essential goods also transforms with time. In Mauritius, 50 years back, commodities like refrigerator, television, were luxury goods. People who have these possessions at home were the well-off. But now, these same goods are more a necessity. The same logic is valid to cellular phones some 20 years back, where only vanguards were using the tool. Now cellular incursion in Mauritius is relatively higher.
The first basic need is food. Yuh, I remember once a lecturer asked, “Do you eat to live, or live to eat?”
I replied, “Eat to live.”
Then the lecturer asked what will come about if we don’t eat. My reply was, “we’ll feel hungry, and the authorities concerned will have to agree with us, since we can go on a hunger strike, etc, etc,…. You see sir, eating is essential for survival, and at times no intake is also vital for survival,… .. .”
Yeps, let’s return to my post ‘Changing Taste’… Our flavor for food has been changing, for instance, the food that was habitually munched some 100 years back, is consumed very little now. Also, new recipes are overtaking previous ones.
Shelter is equally enduring alteration. House models, interior decorations are constantly changing. A house build recently may differ from houses of 150 years back.
What to say about outfits. Fashion changes rapidly. Consider the way superstar were dressed some 50 years back, and compare them with current trends. Personally, I don’t follow fashion; I am my own special creation.
Many thing are changing, the world have less green spaces, the universe is expanding.
People want changes, we don’t want to wear the same type of clothes all the time,,, yet when the climate is changing, we are fretful.
The form of the tap may be changed, but the water has not changed and it must not change. Oxygen must not change.
Changes have constantly been taking place, but what changes???
Despite changes, everything is the same. Quite puzzling huh!
Yeah, utility of basic needs is the same.
Our perception need to change to stop climate change.
miao miao
At roughly 07:35 today, my cat gave birth to 3 cute kittens. I am flabbergasted by the instinct of the animal. The way she handled the matter is somewhat marvelous. After each kitten was born, mother cat would cut the umbilical cord with her teeth. I am wondering where she got such knowledge. Once born, the kitten would look for the breast to have milk. Their eyes are still draped, then how do they know that they are to feed on mum’s breast?. After delivery, mother cat was utterly weary. I gave her milk which she swigged with much appetite.
12/03/1968 - our independence!
sweet is thy beauty,
sweet is thy fragrance,
around thee we gather,
as one people, as one nation,
for peace, justice, and liberty,
beloved country, may god bless thee,
for ever and ever.
