When I first came to Bahrain in 1982, Ramadan followed shortly after. I was living in Juffair near Bahrain School. On the first evening, I noticed everyone waiting for a ‘cannon fire’. When the moment arrived, a loud bang echoed so close that it felt as if it had gone off right outside the building.
I was amazed. I had read that the Mughals introduced cannon fire in the subcontinent, but I had no idea that this centuries-old tradition still existed anywhere.
I went to see it for myself. Back then, the cannon was located near the roundabout behind Central Market in Manama. When my family later joined me in Bahrain, we continued to visit it frequently, especially when we lived near the Police Fort.
It was always an indescribable moment: as the soldier marched toward the cannon, parents would gently instruct their children to cover their ears. I would do the same with my own child. Despite the suddenness of the bang – shocking them for a second – the children always found excitement and joy in the experience.
Tourists were often present as well. Eventually, the cannon’s location was moved to Sanad.
This Ramadan, I took my three young grandchildren to the balcony, and in complete silence they waited eagerly for the familiar boom. I kept saying, ‘Just a minute... any moment now’. But nothing happened. The second day was the same. And the third. I began to wonder whether the Manama location had been abolished or if perhaps the tradition had been discontinued.
Something felt missing this Ramadan. Then I suddenly recalled seeing pictures in this newspaper – the cannon firing on the first and second day of Ramadan, with Bahrain Fort in the background.
I searched online and discovered that cannon fire still continues in Manama, but its exact location remains unclear.
Muhammad
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