Sombre Id celebrations in city due to lockdown
It was a very different Idul-Fitr on Monday with people celebrating the festival without the hugs, visits to families and friends and offering special prayers at Idgahs and Macca Masjid which, along with all other religious places in the state, was shut down because of the Coronavirus lockdown.
The mandatory social distancing norms saw families gather for prayers at home and those who had an access to the terrace gathered on roof tops to pray. With nearly everyone wearing a face mask because of the current situation, the hugs and intimate exchange of greetings among friends and members of families was missing on Monday for most part.
“It was not easy as mentally, we are normally in a different frame when Id comes around. Meeting with friends, visiting them is what is normally done. But this time, it is not normal and I and my family stayed at home and celebrated. We also cooked a little less than what we had done during the past on Id because of our relatives and friends all deciding that everyone should stay at home,” said Atiq Ahmed, who lives near Golconda Fort.
With the government and religious leaders calling on people to scale back the celebrations, pray at home and follow social distance methods, “it was like celebrating under curfew,” according to Zohra Begum.
A former lecturer who lives in Ameerpet, she said “the whole point of the festival is that you celebrate it with others. Prayer is important of course, but not being able to have a large meal with friends and family was not the best experience.”