TIRUCHY: With the Covid-19 cases under control, many parents on Gujili Street here did not impose regulations for Holi celebrations on Friday. Children were seen running with water guns and balloons to celebrate the festival of colours.
The festival mood was visible on Gujili street and nearby areas as it has a significant number of north Indian population residing there. Many residents said they were glad that the pandemic did not spoil this year's celebrations.
"We avoided Holi celebrations in the last two years due to the pandemic. Since the pandemic is almost under control and many people are vaccinated, we permitted our children to play Holi with their friends," said Maneesh Yadav, who has been conducting business at Gujili street for the past 20 years.
Most of the youngsters also shared their happiness of playing Holi without regulations this year. "Though we planned party music and sweet distributions last year, some officials inspected the area and requested us to avoid such celebrations.
But this year we distributed sweets to our neighbours and played with colours with them. We are glad that we were able to celebrate the festival this year," BP Singh, a college student, and resident of Gujili street.
Meanwhile, some of the senior citizens expressed concerns and were found requesting the children to wear masks. "I permitted my grandchildren to celebrate holi but insisted on wearing a mask. When I found that they were playing without face masks, I got worried and asked them to stop," said Indra Devi, a senior citizen from Gujili street.
Many of these residents have their family members in northern India and hope to be able to have huge celebrations in next year's Holi and that the pandemic would not spoil their plans with another wave.