Srinagar: Eid ul-Fitr this year is without the public festivity and general excitement associated with it. There is no rush for shopping, no long queues outside bakeries, no mehndi (henna) stalls on the streets, no customers at beauty salons.
Nor are people gathering at local mosques or visiting family and friends. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, congregational prayers in mosques have not been held for nine weeks now and people will offer special Eid ul-Fitr prayers in homes as well.
A mehndi?artist said she would have a long waiting list of girls wanting to get?mehndi?on their hands and feet during Eid.
“In a day I received about 200 customers, which included children, young women, and girls. I used to earn a good amount. This year no one has come,” said a Srinagar-based mehndi artist.
She added, “Even all weddings have been cancelled, which means I have no source of income now.”
The trend of applying henna on the eve of Eid has grown in recent years and stalls are set up in most Srinagar markets, especially near Jamia Masjid.
“We usually celebrate Eid with lavish dishes and buy new clothes to celebrate. Applying henna is a big part of this, but this year people are not going outdoors,” said Iqra Farooq, a Srinagar resident.
“Since morning my niece is crying for henna and to go for shopping. She is a child, she does not understand what is going on,” Iqra added.
Beauty salons are also sorely missing their Eid customers. Saba, who runs a beauty salon, said that two-three days ahead of Eid, a huge number of customers would come to her salon but this year nothing such has happened. “Although we have opened our salon, but we hardly get three to four customers,” she said.
“Like many other, we, too, are facing losses as this is our only source of income,” she added.
Rukhsana, who used to be a regular visitor to beauty salons, said that it was a misconception that girls and women went to a beauty parlour to look pretty. “Parlours are for enhancing beauty, not to make us beautiful,” she said. “I used to visit beauty parlour for my skin treatment but for the last two months I am not able to go. I usually surf the net for videos that show how to pluck eyebrows or how to do facials. What else can I do?”
People who sell artificial jewellery, beauty products and many other things ahead of Eid are also ruing the lack of business. “We are used to lockdowns but somehow we used to earn a living. But this Covid lockdown is something different. We are not able to earn anything. For the last two months I am sitting idle at home,” said Mohammad Shafi, who sells artificial jewellery.
Another grim prospect that is making people dispirited is that they won’t be able to do the traditional embrace on the day of Eid. “When you finish Eid prayers you hug everyone. This year that won’t happen. It is what I will miss the most,” said Owais Ahmad, a Srinagar resident.

NAZIMA SIDIQ