Qurbani in our Mohalla

 That year, something beautiful started happening in our building too. ❤️

One by one, other families also began bringing their qurbani animals onto the terrace. Slowly, our rooftop no longer felt like just a building terrace… It started feeling like a tiny bakra mandi above the city. 🐐🏢 Everyone helped each other in small ways. Some shared feed. Some gave advice. Some helped tie ropes or arrange water. Others discussed breeds, rates, diets, medicines, and YouTube bakrebazi videos late into the night. It became a small “help thy neighbour” community in the most unexpected way. And for the first time, my animals were no longer lonely on the terrace either. This year, I finally got a strong heavy wooden door installed upstairs with proper bolt, latch, and lock arrangements. So now, unlike previous years, I no longer had to bring the bakra downstairs every single night for safety. We even arranged a couple of light bulbs on the terrace so we could sit comfortably after maghrib. There were charpais and folding cots where people sat together talking for hours while the animals quietly rested nearby. Fresh water was always available from the terrace tank, and somehow the entire atmosphere felt peaceful in a very old-school desi way. 🌙✨ This year, I had also become more serious about their care. I bought Himalaya Batisa for digestion support, added carrots and vegetables into the diet during the final few days, and tried my best to keep both animals healthy, active, and comfortable. And maybe somewhere during those terrace nights… I realized something important. This was not just qurbani anymore. This was probably the rebirth of my favourite childhood hobby — Version 2. Second innings. 🤍 Out of all the animals in the building, the Merino sheep became everyone’s favourite. People constantly stopped to admire how fluffy, cute, and soft it looked. Even neighbours who normally had no interest in animals would smile seeing it.

And to make things even more fun for Bilal, I took him shopping for pink and red ribbons which we tied gently around the sheep’s horns and neck. 🎀🐑 Watching Bilal happily decorate the animals with excitement in his tiny hands… felt like watching my own childhood return once again, but this time through my son’s eyes.