On the first day of Eid in 2016, hundreds queued outside Pakistan Sweets in Doha. The line began soon after early-morning prayers as South Asian expatriates waited hours for halwa puri: fried bread served with sweet halwa and chickpeas. Some had ordered by phone the night before and collected even before prayers; stock prepared overnight was expected to last three hours but ran out in two and a half.
Even after the fifty-year-old shop moved to larger premises, holiday demand exceeded capacity. It suspended dine-in service and sold takeaway only, yet the line remained. Sharing a festival breakfast in migration turned early waiting into a connection with home.