Food for Thought

I hope its not too late to say Ramadan Al Mubarak and may the blessings of Ramadan be with you.

I have yet to bump into the girl with the strawberries sewn onto her telekung this year. I wonder how she is.

Ramadan has always been a special month for me. There is something in the atmosphere that makes you want to slow down the hectic pace of life and be with family and the people that matter most. More importantly, it is a month of reflection and of religious observance, a month of serenity and a chance to show gratitude for all the blessings in life.

Which is why, I was taken aback quite recently by an icy cold rebuff from a lady in pink during a corporate iftar event a few nights ago.

I’ve never been a fan of any ‘majlis berbuka puasa’. It’s quite a hassle, queuing for food, jostling for space in a crowded restaurant and rushing to the surau located miles away, but work is work and organise one I did last Thursday.

Due to the unexpected overwhelming response, and which I am very much quite embarrassed to admit, we ran out of food by 8pm. Be rest assured that no one starved but we just did not have enough for any 3rd servings.

Upon deciding that we had better personally apologise to everyone at the table, and explaining that more food was coming, my colleague and I made our way to each and every table, smiling and apologising profusely. Everyone took it quite well actually, for which I will forever be thankful to them for understanding but a certain lady in pink, who works for a certain private TV station, with her arms crossed, sat back and slowly but enough for everyone at her table to hear her say, “in my whole life, I have never been to an event this bad, never. This is the worst, the worst”. And that came from a person who visited the buffet table three times for the past half hour.

I guess that she had every right to say what she said. At the end of a day of fasting, who wouldn’t be angry when there isn’t enough food? Right?

But I guess I was just surprised at her remark because, I thought that in this blessed month of Ramadan, we would be a little more tolerant of any shortcomings, and a little more forgiving.

Whatever it is Kakak in Pink. I humbly apologise…but if you look at it on the bright side. No food was wasted right? :)

Ramadan Al Mubarak to you kakak in pink. Hope to see you again next Ramadan…