After 4 decades, couple celebrate last Eid in Winnipeg

For one Muslim couple in Winnipeg, celebrating Eid tomarkthe end of Ramadan will be bittersweet.

Thousands gathered at the RBC Convention Centre Sunday morning for Eid prayers, but after 41 years in Winnipeg, it will be the last time for Bashir and Razia Rajput.

They are leaving their home in St. Vital to live with their children and grandchildren in Toronto.

"My first Eid, I remember in 1976, and at that time we opened this mosque and we had Eid. There was not many Muslims at that time in Winnipeg," Bashir, 76, said.

"But we prayed together, stayed outside, met each other and hugged each other."

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Bashir recalled when he first moved to the city decades ago. It was March and the snow was melting.

"I thought, 'Oh my God. Where am I coming [to]?'" Bashir said with a laugh.

The couple soon learned it was a city that was easy to call home and their group of friends grew quickly.

"We used to have one mosque and now we have almost nine mosques," Bashir said.

"The people in Winnipeg they are great Where I go, shopping mall or anywhere, they talk to me and I talk to them. They are very friendly. I am going to miss you."

The first mosque was started in Winnipeg in 1974 and completed the following year, just as the Rajputs were arriving in the city. Before that, prayers were held regularly in the basement of a community member's house. Bashir said tthat was big enough for the few Muslim families at the time.

By 2011 there were about 11,230 Muslim people living in Winnipeg, according to Statistics Canada.

Over the years, the Rajput family became famous for opening their house on Eid to serve delicious food and celebrate the end of fasting. But this year, their house is already packed up for the move.

Looking around the empty space, Razia, 66, said they will go to a relative's house Sunday afternoon.

"It will be both sad and happy. I will be happy to see everyone here as usual and I will be sad that I am leaving them," she said.

"All my Winnipeg people, they are living in my heart and they are very close to my heart and I am going to miss them dearly."

But this last Eid in Winnipeg also marks the start of new traditions for the couple, with their children in Ontario.

"We are going to unite the whole family. My daughter is coming and we are going to go together again," Bashir said.

"I am so happy that I am going to play with my grandchild. I am missing them."

• OPINIONRamadan in Winnipeg: Long days of fasting, but more time for reflection