Coronavirus dampens Onam festivities in Coimbatore

COIMBATORE: Onam celebrations were a low-key affair in the city on Saturday due to the Covid restrictions in place.
As people from Kerala constitute a significant part of the Coimbatore population, the district administration had announced local holiday on Saturday, when the 10-day long festival concluded with thiruvonam celebrations.
The Sidhapudur Sree Ayyappan temple, which was decorated with a colourful flower rangoli, witnessed large crowds from the morning.However, the temple was closed for devotees because of the restriction. People had darshan of the deity from outside the temple.
“It would have been a fulfilling experience if we were allowed inside temple as it is one of the important aspects of Onam celebration,” said 40-year-old Aravind Kutty. “While restrictions are necessary to prevent further spread of Covid, people kept coming to the temple to see if it would open for a special darshan,” he said.
Malayalees made flower rangoli, an integral part of the harvest festival, in front of their homes on Saturday morning. As food is an integral part of the celebrations, city hotels offered attractive combo of Onam sadhya and even took advance booking.
While Onam was celebrated in educational institutions in a grand manner, this year, college and schoolteachers celebrated the festival over the last one week, which were largely subdued. Students attending online classes from home missed the rangoli competition and an opportunity to don traditional attire.