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MANY children from across the kingdom will soon be dressing up in sparkly jalabiyas and crisp, cotton white thobes to participate in the traditional Gergaoun candy-gathering celebrations … carrying colourful boxes featuring designs by artist Nujood Al Mahmood.
The trendy tin carrier cases highlight a selection of her colourful cartoon characters of smiling children wearing traditional attire to capture the spirit of the occasion.
Ten thousand of the creations have been snapped up for BD2 a time from her sister Nahla’s chocolate, flower, wedding and events planning boutique, LalaBella located in Moda Mall and in Qalali.
Graphic designer Nujood, 27, from Muharraq, said: “I love drawing but never thought of turning the hobby into a business, plus I was always too shy to share my characters with anyone.
“But my sister has always encouraged me to express my art and come up with a character line.”
Nujood initially started putting the animations on money envelopes, the sort used during Eid when parents, uncles, aunties and grandparents hand out money to children as gifts for the holiday.
Although they were ‘cute’ Nahla had bigger designs in mind and organised the manufacture of the ideal Gergaoun gift. The tins proved to be a sensation and just a week after unveiling them on social media, the whole stock sold out.
“Although I don’t have children of my own, I call these characters ‘my kids’ and each is unique with its own smile. Their cute faces look lovable and cultural.”
Gergaoun, which is usually, celebrated on either the 13th, 14th or 15th of the Islamic calendar month of Ramadan, is a time when little ones dress in pretty traditional attire, knocking on doors and receive sweet treats from neighbours and friends such as chocolates, candies and crisps.
This year 10,000 Bahraini children will carry Nujood’s yellow, blue, pink and aquamarine tins to be filled.
It is sometimes likened to other annual island activities by expats, such as Halloween, but there are no scary costumes involved here.
The origin of the event is believed to date back to the birth of Prophet Mohammed’s grandson, Hasan ibn Ali, when sweets were handed out in celebration.
Nowadays, families will often gather together to play games while the older children and some of the adults will dress up as ‘Fraysa’ or the ‘horseman’ to wander the neighborhood and sing Gergaoun songs and beat traditional drums. Many malls in the kingdom stage events too.
It’s a custom that the Al Mahmoods annually enjoy. “This is a family tradition that we are never too old to celebrate,” explained Nujood. “Back in the days, my brothers and sisters and I would visit our neighbours to sing traditional songs and receive candy. Sometimes, if we are lucky, we would even get some coins and it would be such a great day for us.”
Aside from spending as much time as she can with loved ones and working on an educational magazine, the talented cartoonist also teaches children how to sketch animation once-a-week at the popular Artology studio in Saar.
Nujood said: “I love teaching children. We really enjoy our time together. I also love cartoons and that’s probably why I draw them all the time!”
Shy Nujood is probably better known by her own cartoon caricature. Her Instagram account @angie_arts features an anime of herself.
The artwork was inspired by her uncle Adnan Al Ahmed, a renowned artist, known for his oil and acrylic paintings.
She said: “I was always fond with how my uncle plays with colours and his special way of painting. I taught myself to draw by buying sketch books and watching the techniques used by other artists. Then I practised and practised and practised some more.”
Her work has constantly drawn attention from an early age with friends asking for cartoon characters to be drawn on their birthday and greeting cards. She went on to study graphic design at the New York Institute of Technology in Bahrain.
During this Ramadan, Nujood has also been involved in charitable endeavours to support local orphans by producing artwork to raise funds.
On the business front, Nujood and her sister are working on creating a new cartoon line … watch this space. “It’s a big project,” Nujood teased.
