“The holy month of Ramadan is one that has many precious memories of mine growing up. My parents have always maintained a balance between the spiritual and materialistic world. During the month of Ramadan we would all set aside time to spend together eating special dishes like biryani, samosas and my mom’s famous khowsuey (Burmese dish) and talking about our day. We would pray regularly but during this month we would make it a point to sit together as a family and give our thanks together. This was the holy month that the Quran was revealed and we made sure to go through some of it everyday and give our own interpretations of what we understood from the scriptures. We collectively learnt that this month was not just about fasting but practicing your faith to the fullest and following rules such as not lying, deceiving, or gossiping.

This act of taqwa which is achieving a consciousness of God is what we believe and follow. My parents allowed us to see the world through our own eyes and this month was theirs to teach us the importance of religion and how we could incorporate the knowledge into our lives to be better humans.

As I look back I am grateful to have been able to have that extra quality time with my family. I now follow these same practices with my family and hope to impart the values and traditions to them.”