It is festive season and guidelines are a rollin’. The state government now has brought in a number of guidelines for the upcoming Navratri festival from October 7. The guide we have for Mumbaikars, whether organiser, reveller or devotee, is to simply follow the stipulated Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) laid down.

First up, it will be disappointing but perhaps not surprising given political parties and their track records that somebody jumps up and stirs the communal pot, as keep your dandiya sticks away, garba-dandiya is not allowed. This space has repeatedly exhorted readers to call out this bluff, refusing to succumb to rabble-rousing and unnecessary needling. If citizens themselves see through this ploy, every politician will realise that they can no longer get away putting a spark to the powder keg of communal divides.