The Eid scenario in Delhi will not be like every year, like the one depicted in the picture above.
Eid-ul-Fitr or Eid is celebrated to mark the end of the holy month Ramzan. Fellow Muslim citizens and followers of Islam observe a fast from dawn to dusk each day for the entire month of Ramzan.
On this day, people dress up in newly bought clothes, delicious dishes like sheer korma are made and devotees offer namaz at mosques. Families, friends and relatives gather, greet and hug each other to wish “Eid Mubarak”. People wait for this festival for a year-long to be invited by their Muslim friends to join in celebrations and munch in delicious food.
But this year, due to the virus spread, everyone will have to keep the celebrations within the boundaries of their houses and offer their prayers to the mighty lord from there only.
The Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid said it will be hard for people to celebrate Eid like this but they need to do this to protect each other from coronavirus. He said that people have an immense attachment to Jama Masjid but they will have to stay in their homes and no one will be allowed inside the mosque other than the mosque staff.
This will happen after 30 years when the Jama Masjid will remain shut on the occasion of Eid.
Last time it was in May 1987, due to the imposition of curfew in Delhi owing to tensed surroundings due to the communal riots in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.
The Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, Syed Ahmed Bukhari, informed that the masjid and similarly all other mosques in Delhi will remain shut respecting the lockdown norms imposed to curtail the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mufti Mukarram Ahmed (the Shahi Imam of Masjid Fatehpuri) recalled the 1993 curfew imposed post-Babri Masjid demolition when Fatehpuri mosque did not hold prayers.
Haji Miyan Faiyazuddin, 82, of the iconic Haji Hotel in the Jama Masjid area, said that he has never experienced an Eid without Namaz being offered in mosques, hugs being exchanged, and celebrations on the streets.
But they both also stated this situation is unprecedented and people should understand and co-operate. They extended their requests for people to stay at their homes and celebrate Eid from there only.
Many small business owners and shopkeepers who sell clothes, shoes, jewelry, and whatnot, said this would be a “black-Eid”. It is usually their peak time to earn in the year and the virus spread has shattered all their hopes.
Very few people were seen shopping in areas like a walled city, Batla House, Shaheen Bagh, and other Muslim-dominated areas.
Hashtags like #EidatHome and #EidiforMigrants are also trending on twitter. People are requesting their fellows to help the needy ones and stay at home. They were also requested to spend 50% of their Eid budget on the ones who are helpless and need support in these hard times.
People following social distancing norms and adhering to the government-issued guidelines is the need of the hour.
BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain who always organizes sumptuous Eid feasts in the Lutyens Delhi, attended by top politicians said he will spend this Eid in a simple way feeding the poor.
Grandeur will surely be missed this year but as said, it is the intent that counts.
May this Eid bring health, luck, and prosperity to the entire world.
