Ramzan celebrations muted

Celebrations on Eid-ul-Fitr, popularly known as Ramzan, were subdued with no mass prayers in any part of the central region on Monday.

Hundreds of Muslims usually congregated at idgah grounds and mosques to offer mass prayer on Ramzan in Tiruchi and other districts. But, almost all mosques and idgahs remained empty on Monday with people offering prayers in their homes as the government had prohibited all kinds of public gatherings to control the spread of COVID-19 virus.

While most of them offered prayers along with their family members in their homes, some preferred to conduct prayers on the terrace with a group of 10 to 15 persons. They then embraced each other and exchanged pleasantries. They adhered to the social distancing norms as asked by the governments and religious heads.

“Offering prayers at home is nothing new as it is our way of life. But, this is probably the first that we have confined to our homes on Ramzan,” said M. Moideen,55, who led a prayer at his house in Cantonment.

“As responsible citizens, we fully adhere to the government’s norms while celebrating Ramzan. We avoided public gatherings and open ground mass prayers,” said M.A. Aleem, a resident of Thuvarankurichi in Tiruchi district.

The festive buzz was missing in the market too with major textile traders were not allowed to open their stores since March 25. Only small time textile shops and pavement traders were opened. With their favourite shops remained closed, Muslims could not purchase new cloths as they wished. Many of them restricted their festive purchase mainly for children.

“We cannot imagine Ramzan without new dresses. We would buy at least two dresses for each of us. But, we bought new dresses only for our grandchildren this year,” Mr. Moideen said.