I read the first few paragraphs of Hishammudin Rais's Dotmai Kembali (' Rabbai, Penjara dan Hari Raya ' ) with a tinge of sadness. Isham speaks of buying clothes and shoes anew as something of a klise (cliche).

I came from a poor family. My father had to leave school at a young age to sell cakes as his family was too poor to afford him a schooling. I grew up with only one new dress per Hari Raya Puasa. We use the same 'new' dress for Hari Raya Haji. This can became the 'party dress' even if I have to wear it 20 times in a row. It was distressing for a child to forgo a new dress for a school uniform or even school shoes. Sometimes a new pair of Hari Raya shoes would be school shoes.

The to-die-for special food is chicken. We only had chicken for Hari Raya. I remember my parents even discussing if we need to buy an extra chicken!

That was how it is in the 60s for children of my class. Living in the city of KL, I know of Malays who shop in London as easy as stepping off a bus in Pudu Raya. There are countless among us who feed in a frenzy in Ramadan in hotel-laden buffet.

It might be a cliche for some, not so others. And indeed Ramadan or Syawwal may mean different things for Muslims.