Eid, pray, love: Celebrations in Chennai under lockdown

As days and weeks and months start to merge, I mark the passing of time through the writing of this column. While the highlight of this week was Eid, we, of course, had to celebrate it in the new COVID style or as all the memes referred to it — Cov’Eid’. With it came all the usual FOMO with the biryani everyone was eating, and all the amazing images floating around on social media. I decided to put myself out of my misery and just ordered myself some. Easy peasy.

It was also interesting to see how friends celebrated the festival, within the new parameters. After coming across a fun video on Farhana Suhail’s Insta, I chatted with her about how this year’s festivities were different from previous years. “Eid was different this year. No gatherings at friends houses, no exchanges of iftars, no night prayers in the mosque, but the silver lining was, all family members praying together, an increase in charity, and the fun part was the Zoom calls and bonding. So, far less consumerism, more family time, more prayer, increased compassion and charity. Exactly the way Ramadhan was celebrated originally,” said Farhana. Mommy Blogger Moina Memon said, “My friend Ami Jangla, who’s also a photographer came over a couple of days before Eid to capture some of our special moments. We were thrilled to be a part of her COVID family days project (#LockedDownLove), where she wanted to know how we were celebrating Eid during the lockdown. We spent a good two hours cycling in our by-lane, doing some art, playing with our pet Peanut and doing an iftar with Ami as our guest.”

And side-by-side, along with all the cooking and eating, the workouts continue. I seem to come across new and interesting accounts to follow every day. This week’s find was wellness consultant Weena Pradhan (@weenapradhan) with some useful pointers on working out at home, without equipment. When Weena is not making fun videos, she also coaches clients one-on-one and has been reinventing her fitness levels, with a six-day-a-week workout with son Amitash.

—  paloma@newindianexpress.com