Keeping a date with God, virtually!

Earlier, when people would organise prayers online, they’d be ridiculed for being gen fast forward. But since lockdown, praying online has gone from being labelled as fashionable, to becoming the need of the hour. While many churches are web streaming their mass and services online, breaking Ramzan fast with friends on video calls is also becoming increasingly common.

For regular visitors of temples, online kirtans are making up for the physical visits. A Rajendra Nagar resident, Asha Sukh says, “I have been going to the temple for decades, and to not do that now was making my day feel incomplete. So we started sharing kirtan links online. Some days we even get on Skype to pray together.

Hum toh yehi mangte hain ki ye corona khatam ho.’’

The traffic on websites offering online religious services has also witnessed a surge. A Ganesh Nagar resident, Santosh Agarwal runs one such website. She says, “We take about four to five days to make arrangements and conduct the rituals on video call, as the priest sits in the temple on behalf of the individuals organising the pooja.’’

For the followers of Islam, Abu Sufiyan from Daryaganj is running a campaign #IbadatGharSe, where he encourages people to pray at home and share pictures. “We are asking people to not congregate outside. Social media helps us in feeling a sense of inclusion even during this time,” says Sufiyan, describing how his father keenly watches the Tarawih (ritual prayers in the month of Ramzan) live from Mecca.

In Mayur Vihar, Crossway Church of Delhi is organising Sunday sermons online, for its members. Pastor Stanley Thomas Isac says, “It’s easier for people to connect online. They get a good opportunity to learn to be with God while they are alone at home.”