Buka Puasa Do

This is only the first week of the Ramadhan and although one comes across so many "Buka Puasa Specials" advertised in the dailies and other print as well as electronic media, I am yet to see how the crowd goes this year. Tomorrow I am making a reservation for that " Ramadhan Special" at one of the outlets not far from my house, for all my sons and their families ( except for Haniff who's now back in Cork, Ireland ) Nasimah, Nurul and I. I made an early reservation so that there's a space for us because of it's limited capacity. Most important there's a Surau sited just outside the shopping centre, next to a food court, so that we would be able to perform the Maghrib prayer. In the past from what I saw, people would fill up their plates and be ready with their dates and drinks just before the time to break fast. And once the Adhan is sounded, you could see how quickly they gulp down their drinks and start eating whatever had been put on their plates. Sometimes I just wonder how commercialised the Ramadhan had been made into, by the offerings from scores of eateries and restaurants of 5-star Hotels which is mildly speaking mind boggling. I have no qualms about the array of spread being lined up for the "Buka Puasa" but what is most galling is the wastage. I have seen so many plates with unfinished food left on the tables and I am sure it would be thrown away as leftovers, whereas the Blessed month of Ramadhan is training the Believers to be modest and restrained in everything they consumed so that could not be regarded as "Membazir". Although it's their money and their choice whether to be a glutton or not, one must not lose sight of the significance of the true meaning of fasting in the Blessed month of Ramadhan. It's significance lies in the " Taqwa " which should be the objective and how could one achieve it by being wasteful and inconsiderate as every plate of rice and whatever goes with it is a blessing from ALLAH S.W.T. and should one be grateful for HIS Bounty, it should not be wasted unwittingly. One must be conscious that not all are so fortunate as to "Buka Puasa" in 5-star hotels and other eateries, and how would a beggar feel that unwonted waste could have been his food for the whole week! This "Buka Puasa Do" have reached it's climax already, because of the economic gloom that will befall many who relied on others to survive. Perhaps I might be wrong to say that for this year, the fashionable " Buka Puasa Buffet " is not so rampant as the previous years, or it's just a mirage on my part! So to those of you contemplating to reserve a table for the " Buka Puasa " there's plenty of choice and probably you could have " double rations " due to the glut in the market for those who have money still to spare, before the curtains are down and I wish everyone who reads this posting, Wa Sahlan Ramadhan Al-Mubarak!