Lucknow: Shrines abuzz with prayers, business waits

LUCKNOW: After long gap of two-and-a half months, places of worship opened their doors to the call of faith as restrictions on their operations were relaxed on Monday as part of Unlock 1.0.
While devotees brought their own prasad and puja material to city’s Mankameshwar Temple, Muslim devotees carried their own skull caps to the Aishbagh Eidgah and other mosques for namaz. Sikhs were unable to hide their tears while praying at Gurdwara Naka Hindola. Similarly, morning and evening prayers were hled in the lower chapel Hazratganj’s St. Joseph’s Cathedral Church with limited entry.

All the devotees were allowed entry only after thermal scanning and hand sanitization. Those with high temperatures were sent back. At Hanuman Setu temple, people had to offer prayers from outside the temple gate. Standing on the assigned demarcations on the road to maintain physical distancing, not more than five people at a time were allowed to offer prayers. Many were eager for darshan as they couldn’t do so during the auspicious occasion of Bada Mangal, over three centuries old tradition which was broken this year due to the lockdown.
Vishesh Arora, came to take blessings for his one-monthold daughter. “She was born in the middle of the lockdown,”
he said. “Every year, entire family used to visit the temple during Bada Mangal, but missed this time due to lockdown. Today, members will come one by one at different hours to offer prayers,” said Rajesh Srivastava.
People offered ‘namaz’ at mosques with safety measures in place. Only five people were allowed to take part in a prayer session. Morning prayer at Aishbagh Eidgah mosque witnessed four jamaats of five members each offering namaz after 15-minute intervals. Similar reports were recieved from Jama Masjid, in Masjid Ammar Khadra, and Ek Minara Masjid. “We prayed for the well being of entire humanity,” said Imam Eidgah Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahli.
All gurdwaras, after going through the mandated safety precautions, let a few devotees lend a helping hand by giving dry ration to the gurdwaras performing langar seva. “The eagerness to visit the gurdwara was seen in the public. Many of them came teary-eyed and couldn’t hide their emotions while praying,” said Satpal Singh, religious secretary, Gurdwara Naka Hindola.
At St. Joseph’s Cathedral Church, only a few people were allowed for the holy communion. Mansi Kumar, a regular church-goer, came to pray for the well-being of her cousin in Delhi diagnosed with Covid-19. “Only prayers can give strength in these trying times,” she said.