Coronavirus devours warmth of Id this year

There were no community prayers, no hugs and not even handshakes among people

The raging coronavirus has devoured the warmth and charm of all festivals. And Id-ul-Fitr was no exception.

Id was different this year. The very mention of Id-ul-Fitr brings to mind images of throngs of Muslim devotees, sporting skull caps and offering prayers at masjids, which was missing, thanks to the lockdown due to the pandemic.

There were no community prayers, no hugs and not even handshakes, in keeping with the advisories issued by the Muslim clerics, in the wake of the social distancing protocol.

The culmination of Ramzan, a month of fasting wherein the faithful spend their time praying, Id is not just an abstention from food and drink but it is an exercise to inculcate discipline in life.

“Community prayer and embracing each other with warm greetings of ‘Id Mubarak’ is the best part of the celebration which is missing this year,” laments Zainab Chikani, a student from Visakhapatnam.

The coronavirus has thrown a wet blanket on the festival spirit.

The mosques and Idgah grounds that rent with special prayers on this day, were shut to the public, with only a handful of persons offering prayers.

People were asked to offer prayers at home, and this was the first time that men and women together offered namaz from their homes.

Casareen Fatima, an employee of a private firm, said forfeiting festival shopping due to the lockdown did not bother her, but she certainly missed the ‘steady stream of guests’ at home to exchange the festival greetings.

“My mother made sheer korma, seviyaan and other delicacies, but in lesser quantity,” she rued, adding that the family had to make up for the absence of their friends and relatives by connecting with them through online mode like Zoom.

Family time

Abbas Mastan, a techie working in Hyderabad, said the only good thing about this unprecedented situation seemed to be the fact that the immediate family members were all together.

“My elder brother and I seldom stay at home on the festival day, but this year, all of us are together.”

“The whole world is in turmoil and an occasion like Id-ul-Fitr is the best time to beseech Allah to save the mankind from this dreaded virus,” said Mohammed Tariq, a teacher in a local school, insisting that true prayers will usher in good things and people could then celebrate collectively.