With Eid-ul-Fitr just around the corner everyone is gearing up for the festivities. After a month of devotion and fasting Eid gives people an excuse to do something special for themselves and their families. As the month of Ramadan nears its end, people are busy making last minute preparations. Celebrities arc also getting ready for the grand celebration.

Popular actor Azizul Hakim is working on his Eid preparations as well. Recently, the actor shared his Eid plans with the The DailyStar.

“Eid brightens my mood and I enjoy the occasion thoroughly. However, my childhood memories of Eid will always remain special.

"Waking up at crack of dawn, putting on brand new cloths, attending the mass prayers with my family members made it exciting," says Hakim.

"However, the most thrilling part of Eid, to a child is perhaps the salami from parents and elders," he adds with a chuckle.

"I had the opportunity to

enjoy Eid in different regions of Bangladesh, since my father was a government employee was transferred often, taking us along with him. I spent most of my childhood in Jessore and Magura.

"Special dishes prepared by my mother on Eid used to be the highlight of the day," says Hakim. "My favourite is shemai zarda and lachcha shemai."

Hakim cherishes his time spent with his brothers and sisters.

"We are nine siblings, of whom my younger brother Arif and I were the closest. Our parents often bought similar clothes for us on Eid. We looked like twins!"

"Eid in those days and Eid now, in Dhaka arc not the same. With the nuclear family culture on the rise, people rarely visit their relatives living out of the city or even neighbours next door,”hesays.

"Most of my family members live in different flats of the same building. So it is like a joint family and we get to see each other often and get together on major occasions like Eid," says Hakim.

"Everyone loves to share the bliss of Eid with his/her family but the ones who have left us can only be remembered. Every Eid after the prayers, I visit my parents' graves," says a sombre Hakim.

Many families nowadays plan a trip during the Eid holidays to have some quality time together. Says Hakim.

"This year, on Eid we will be visiting my wife Zeenat's sister in Houston, Texas in US. We hope to have a great time there.”