The break in the rain provided people the opportunity to celebrate Deepavali the way they wanted. Yes, the rain was thin and fell in parts but that did not stop families from celebrating.
Many came out of their houses to burst crackers in the morning after going through the rituals and soon, the street sides were coated with leaves ripped from trees from Monday’s cyclonic weather and paper shredded from burst crackers.
Last minute shopping continued at the shopping centers – Monday’s rain had restrained people from going out. The photo here shows the rush at Adyar Anandha Bhavan shop in Mylapore on Monday.
Many families chose to make sweets and savories at home and serve it to guests.
The Hariharans who reside at Kanakaraya Malayappa Street in Mandavelipakkam gifted saplings to their guests to make it a novel occasion.
Rani Meyemmai Association, MRC Nagar, Chennai, an elite gated community, is celebrating Diwali with its customary zeal and lack of concern for the environment, neighbours and noise pollution regulations. Rani Meyemmai residents blast fireworks in their parking lot surrounded by tall buildings on every side for hours at a stretch amplifying the blasts many times over for the neighbouring residents. Even after repeated complaints and concerns for the welfare of elderly neighbours with heart problems and other ailments, the residents turn a deaf ear to the complaints and continue to blast away well past the 10 PM cut off time established by a Supreme Court ruling (bursting of crackers is banned from 10pm to 6am, in accordance with a 2005 Supreme Court order). Rani Meyemmai residents are in the upper economic bracket and wish to display their wealth by blasting thousands upon thousands rupees worth of fireworks and in the process showcase their arrogance, ignorance and / or contempt for Supreme Court regulations. The illegal, ill-considered and insensitive actions of the Rani Meyemmai Association need to be publicized to a wide audience as an example of how not to misuse affluence and influence.