Alarm bells were ringing in my head the moment I stepped into the office. At first I thought it was the lights. Have they finally replaced those flickering bulbs? But no, it wasn’t. It was a combination of things: the absent cups filled with water on people’s desks, no colleague snacking on cinnamon buns and more importantly…no sound.

A little unsettled, it was then that I’ve finally realised that the room was populated by people with tired faces–and I don’t mean the “I’ve only slept a few hours because I’m such a diligent worker” look–I knew immediately something was amiss.

Continue reading on Ramadaniyyat