We celebrated Eid in the UAE on Monday with great excitement. Everybody here looked very excited and happy because this was a very special Eid for all of us. We felt relaxed and relieved after two years. We had to restrict our celebration for two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We remained in our houses, avoided meeting and greeting friends and relatives due to safety reasons. Nobody was allowed to meet and greet anyone. Even international flights were not operating on a regular basis, therefore, people stayed in the country and celebrated a very subdued Eid.  Rather the pandemic forced us to celebrate Eid on Zoom or on other social media platforms.

But this year, we felt like a bird out of a cage. We were free to celebrate Eid in whichever way we wanted to celebrate. The COVID-19 pandemic has made us realise the importance of freedom. We are free to meet and greet our friends and relatives now. The pandemic had made us realise the value of society and cohesiveness. Hope we respect this freedom and value its importance.

Anupama Chandra,
By email