Residents of the temple city woke up to a cool and pleasant morning on Tuesday as the day before Deepavali started with overcast sky. Rains lashed many parts of the city later in the day and intermittent showers continued till 5 p.m.
The average temperature was 27 degree Celsius throughout the day in the city, which witnessed rains.
Passengers who were waiting at Mattuthavani bus stand said that they were hoping for no unprecedented delays in their journey to the surrounding districts to celebrate the festival.
The showers, however, did not deter the crowds from making last-minute shopping as they visited Simakkal, Masi and Avanimoola streets and thronged textile and jewellery showrooms.
Evening rushAs the showers gave way to a sunny sky after 5 p.m., crowds also thronged Vilakkuthoon where pavement hawkers had put up a number of shops for the festival, selling utensils, mats, pillows and plastic items.
Salesmen at cracker shops said that business was not very good since people did not make major purchases due to the rains.
“We hope that with the rains subsiding in the evening, more people will come and buy crackers in the last minute,” said Muthu Raja, a salesman at a stall set up by a private fireworks company near Simakkal.