With restrictions lifted and travel possible, three Mumbaikars share how they are looking forward to celebrating the festival this year with family, friends and lots of local delicacies
Mumbai’s Catholic community is celebrating Easter today with in-person mass for the first time in two years. Photo: istock
For Alvio D'souza, this Easter is going to be special simply because he wasn't able to celebrate it last year like he wanted to. It was just a few months into his marriage and like every newly married couple in the community, D'Souza and his wife were looking forward to celebrating it with both their families. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic was still raging on and just when every Mumbaikar thought the situation had become better, the second wave took over and spoiled the happy plans of many like the 29-year-old city-based finance professional.
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He explains, "We had got married during the pandemic so both families have not yet celebrated Easter together. So, this year, we get to celebrate Easter all together. The lunch will be East Indian style and dinner will be Goan style," says the Bhayandar resident, who is a member of the East Indian community, while his wife is from the Goan community.
Like many other festivities in the last two years, Easter celebrations for the Catholic community haven't been the same. People were neither able to attend Easter vigil in church nor were they able to celebrate the occasion -- which marks the Resurrection of Christ, according to the Bible -- with their family and friends. However, this year they will be able to do both.
"It feels so good to be celebrating the resurrection of Christ with your loved ones and getting a chance to wish people in person. It is very different from the last two years which was celebrated only through wishes over video calls," he adds.
Sacha D’souza’s family celebrated Easter 2021 with DIY cocktails and lots of food. Photo: Sacha D’souza
Like D'souza, Malad resident Caryn Putman is going to be making the most of celebrations. She shares, "I'm celebrating Easter with family and friends with a house party after midnight mass with friends." Since most of her friends are away from home, they have made it a tradition to come home and meet each other for this festival. The next afternoon, she will be indulging in the traditional Easter lunch with her family.
Luckily for the creative professional, it has been one aspect she has been able to enjoy to the fullest ever since she moved back home during the pandemic because of the work-from-home arrangement. "But I missed out on celebrating with friends. We did manage to connect online over video for a bit but the sheer volume of people on the call made it chaotic," shares the 30-year-old.
Elsewhere, in Santacruz, Sacha D'souza is equally happy to celebrate by attending Easter mass with friends and family. It was an aspect that she missed out on in the last two years, as it was either online or had a coupon system due to restrictions in the city. "There’s a strength in numbers and just having to see everyone come out again fearlessly is reassuring that it’s going to be upward and onward from here," says the hopeful 30-year-old.
Her family will bring in celebrations by gorging on hot cross buns on Easter Sunday morning. "We usually do an Easter brunch but with two of our family members being commercial pilots with their specific schedules, we are doing an Easter dinner with family and friends at our home," she adds. However, not before they send out their annual packages of Easter Eggs through delivery services to family and friends in the city.
While celebrations were muted in 2020, they were in full swing in 2021 for her family, says D'souza, with a DIY cocktail arrangement and potluck meal, as most family members were still grounded, due to restrictions on air travel. Since they're all back up and about with their work, this time celebrations are going to be with a smaller crowd but definitely not with a smaller spread.
Their celebration will not only include dishes such as chicken curry, mutton rogan josh, and potato chops, which are a family favourite, there will also be fugias, citrus salad and a trifle. They are also looking forward to haleem, as a family member flies down from Hyderabad in time for the festival.
For the Putmans, who belong to the Anglo-Indian community, their family tradition dictates that they enjoy the feast with a lot of non-vegetarian food including pork roast and homemade wine and, last but not the least, Easter eggs for dessert.
It is no different for Bhayandar-based D'souza. "We have planned beers for the afternoon and coconut feni for the night. There are also going to be potato chops for starters and stuffed chicken for main course. The other dishes are yet a surprise to me, as my job was to arrange for the drinks," chuckles D'souza.
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