NEW DELHI: India’s gratitude to its foot soldiers in the fight against the novel coronavirus on Sunday found expression in a choreographed yet chaotic nationwide chorus of clapping, clanging of utensils and conch shells being blown as the “janata curfew” that had started 10 hours earlier entered its final lap.
PM Narendra Modi tweeted his approval by tagging a video clip of his mother Heeraben beating a plate in her Gandhinagar house. “With the blessings of crores of mothers like you, the doctors, nurses, medical staff, police personnel, security personnel, sanitation workers and members of the media fighting coronavirus are encouraged,” he wrote.
मां… मां आप जैसी करोड़ों माताओं के आशीर्वाद से कोरोना वायरस से लड़ रहे डॉक्टर, नर्स, मेडिकल स्टाफ, पुलिसकर्मी,… https://t.co/CU6tUFWNI2
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) 1584889236000
In some places, including Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru, the goal of social distancing was quickly forgotten as groups of people spilled over from balconies and terraces to the streets to shout slogans and march with the Tricolour.
While there was outrage on social media over the benefits of the 14-hour shutdown being negated, the country