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Cultural activities replace colour-water festivities in Thane
Coronavirus scare kept Holi celebrations low-key this year.
Coronavirus scare kept Holi celebrations low-key this year.
Most housing societies in Thane had given instructions to residents to not celebrate Holi in huge gatherings.
“As coronavirus cases have spread panic among residents, we took preventive measures to stay safe. We did not organise any Holi get-together like every year. Instead, we only performed Holi dahan puja on the eve of Holi. As most schools had given out advisory to children, many did away with celebrations,” said K Kumar, chairman, Vasantvihar Apex Society at Brahmand in Thane.
The Koli community in Kopri refrained from putting colours on each other and instead organised a cultural event to celebrate the festival of colours.
“Children, youngsters and women came together to showcase folk songs and dances, highlighting the Koli culture. Instead of playing with colours, we spoke about our tradition and celebrations so that people do not touch each other. We created awareness about the infection,” said Prahlad Nakhwa, 69, a resident of Kopri.
Youngsters and children gathered at Upvan lake in Thane where artists painted faces to celebrate Holi in a unique way.
“This year, we celebrated Holi in a creative way and got a huge response. Around seven artists painted 150 faces with different designs,” said Shripad Bhalerao, artist and founder of Swatva, which organised the event for free.
A 32-year-old construction worker, Surinder Vikramsingh, from Kalyan drowned in a creek when he went for a swim after celebrating Holi. In Dahanu, Swan Aryan, 29, is feared drowned after he went for a swim to Aswali dam. He was swept away by strong currents and has not been found. The fire brigade will resume search operation on Wednesday.
Animal lovers went around the streets at Kharghar, looking for strays that were coloured by Holi revellers. Seema Tank, an animal activist, said, “On Tuesday, we were out on the streets from 4pm to 7pm to look for ‘coloured’ dogs. We will repeat the drive on Wednesday from 10am to 1pm. Most Holi colours have harsh chemicals which are harmful for animals.”
