A girl offers prayers during the namaz at Gandhi Maidan in Patna on Monday morning. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Tigers within were out. So were Bachchans.

A youth screamed: “Kahin nikal na jaye hamari body se pran re”. His obvious inspiration was Ajay Devgn-starrer Bol Bachchan.

There was food, fun and frolic all around. Some youths shuttled between the aroma of yummy dishes spread out at home and carom boards laid out on streets.

This Monday was a day of celebrations — home and away. As always, Patnaites dished out an eclectic flavour of festivities. And their celebrations were paraphernalia of tradition and modernity.

Meet Mohammad Monawer Alam. A resident of Ramna Road, Alam works with a multinational company in faraway Dubai. The festival has brought him home. And he’s ecstatic, as always.

Alam felt the new trend set by Devgn’s short kurtas and Salman’s scarves gave an additional flavour to Id. “The modern scarves, along with the traditional kurta-pyjama, has added to the flavour of Id this year. They have set a brand new trend and added a new dimension to our festival. Yet, the main essence of the festival is very much there.”

Faisal Haider bought a short kurta from Khaitan market, especially for the festival. “I bought the kurta for Id. A cup-buttoned short kurta with blue or black jeans gives a smart look to a person.”

The kurta costs between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,500. The V-necked kurta with collar without buttons is a close second to the scarves that have rocked the Id markets across the capital.

Faisal, who works in Bangalore and has come to his home in the city to celebrate Id with his family members, said in the past few years new films have set the tone of fashion during the festival.

“The new clothes help in adding a new flavour to the festive mood,” he said.

The revellers, who had observed fast for the past one month and followed every step of austerity, were everywhere on Monday. Many of them flocked Mona theatre to watch the Sallu flick, Ek Tha Tiger. Many, however, had to return disappointed. Bookings were closed for the next two days.

But many foresaw the situation and booked tickets a couple of days in advance. “I had planned to watch the movie on Id and so, I had booked my ticket in advance,” Zakir Hussain, a reveller, said smiling.

When Id comes, can delicacy be far behind?

Alam, who would return to Dubai in a few days, thrived on delicacies.

“After a month-long fasting, it was time to treat the taste buds with some yummy non-vegetarian dishes, along with sewai and lachcha. The best part is that all of these are prepared at home.”

He said Id in the homeland is different from the celebrations in Dubai. “You can see we are playing carom and everybody is celebrating. This togetherness is not there in Dubai. There, we hardly visit anybody’s home. The relationship there is very official.”

After a long wait, the day was over rather quickly. But the effects are here to stay.

For Alam, Faisal, Zakir and lakhs others, it was the day of the year. After all, not everyday do they meet their loved ones, not everyday can they do what their hearts feel, not everyday do they greet each other.

Id Mubarak!