..A Fisherman’s Day Out..

 

As a festive mood was beginning to grip the Sultanate, all the Muslims were making preparations to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr in zest by offering prayers, giving alms to the needy, shopping for necessities and spending time with family. These Eid holidays for the rest usually meant spending time with family, relatives and visiting different touristic places. Every Eid holiday, I look forward to doing something different.

On the day of Eid, when all Muslim brothers and sisters woke up to celebrate their auspicious day, I was getting ready for a day out in the sun. A sweltering sun, a cool breeze, and a beautiful beach was the perfect way to spend a holiday with family. The idea was to go fishing! The thought of just sinking my feet into soft sand and the constant gale of salty breeze from the sea had got me all excited, I could hardly wait for it to happen.

The whole family got dressed after a late breakfast and wearing our best beach outfits we were ready to make the maximum out of this trip. We were heading out on a clamp fishing expedition at a beach in Al Khaboura. Once we got the right directions the next two hours were spent playing petty games during the drive.

I could not wrap my head around the idea, of how I could put my hand safely into the water and pick a clamp without getting stuck into one. The trick to successful clamp picking, says my uncle is to wait for a perfect low tide. As we reached this glorious stretch of beach we saw the water receding. After wearing a cap to protect my eyes from the sun, applying loads of sunblock and holding small buckets in hand. We attacked the beach as though it was a sandcastle building competition; we were just like little kids on a mission.

It later struck me that I had now found a genuine purpose to play with the sand. We all split up and started picking clamps that were tight shut. Since only those could be considered for cooking! So I sat myself down and stealthily dug up some sand to find my first clamp, or as my mother said, “do not be scared, it’s not going to bite you”. And voila! Soon I had my bucket getting filled up with multicolored clamps, as I washed them in seawater I could see them glistening in the sun with different crisscross patterns on them.

For a brief moment, I watched everyone working, in the midst of the heat and sweat a sense of calmness was surrounding us. We were all giving it our hundred percent, a simple occasion was helping us to reunite as one, but also giving us the perfect activity to indulge in. This was an afternoon of fun, frolic, and splashing of water. As the buckets started to fill, we got into the water for a swim accompanied by some of the elders. Soon the tide started to set in, everybody regrouped near the cars.

We then had our picture-perfect moment, as successful fishermen returning home from the turbulent sea. Or as my imagination prompted as the wet bandits of the sea, we counted our loot and gladly divided the clamps into equal shares. As we returned to our cars tired and drained out, I realized this had not only helped us to reunite as one, but had also kept the spirit of Eid alive giving us ample time to bond as a family. It was a fisherman’s afternoon at sea.