CHENNAI: India has surpassed eight million coronavirus cases, but the threat of infection doesn’t seem to dim the sparkle of Deepavali festivities, not in Chennai, at least. Prominent lanes are packed, shops are brimming with zealous crowds and markets are akin to a mela. “Festivals are also upon us, but we must not forget that while the lockdown may have ended, the virus hasn’t,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said in his seventh televised address to the nation in October.
But shoppers in the city do not want to fuss too much over the pandemic or the protocols, it seems. TNIE lensman Ashwin Prasath caught customers thronging popular shopping streets in T Nagar and Purasaiwalkam, keeping all safety protocols aside, for a usual shopping experience in the unusual of times.