Amidst chirping of birds and a benign sun, the New Year arrived refreshingly with reminiscence of the past year. People were seen flocking to temples, theatres, restaurants, parks and things were abuzz everywhere, here on Wednesday.
The Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) Road near Satyanarayanapuram was seen with full of activity in the early hours. Those who went for a morning walk exchanged New Year greetings even with total strangers. Several residential associations organised grand celebrations to welcome 2014. Major roads and stadia, including Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium (IGMC), wore a festive look as people in sizeable numbers congregated and exchanged pleasantries with one another.
Faith triumphed over the other ways of ushering in the New Year in the city. From the young to he old, there wasn’t a house in many localities of the city from which people did not visit a temple. Temples were opened early in the morning.
Special prayers were offered. Hundreds of people offered worship at various temples in the city as part of New Year celebrations. Strikingly, it was the youth who turned in good numbers at the temples, and a large number of students could be spotted there.
As the day dawned, the devotees thronged major temples including Kanaka Durga temple. Huge crowds visited the Vinayaka Temple on Canal road here which was decked up for the occasion. Saibaba temples like one situated near Maris Stella College was abuzz and long queues were seen. Despite, they waited patiently in the queue awaiting their turn to pay obeisance to the presiding deity. Special mass was held in all the churches in the city last night and in the morning. Crackers were burst to welcome the New Year. Police exercised strict vigil and police personnel were deployed at various places to keep a check on revellers.
