By Alkesh Sharma, IANS,
Chandigarh : Come Christmas and New Year, and this city gets into party mode. But this year all prominent hotels and even clubs and discotheques have cancelled celebrations in the wake of the shocking tragedy in Mumbai a month ago.
“We have decided unanimously that there will be no celebrations here following what happened in Mumbai. There has been a colossal loss of life there,” Manmohan Singh, president of Chandigarh hotels and restaurants association, told IANS.
“Look at the victims’ families. We need to stand beside them with full support in this hour of distress.”
But Singh said there was no restriction on guests coming to the hotel on their own or getting celebrations privately arranged there.
This city of 1.2 million people, which serves as the capital of Punjab whose people are known for their verve and zest for life, usually parties hard on Dec 24 and Dec 31.
Prominent hotels – there are around eight or nine of them – and discotheques start advertising for dinners for couples or individuals a week or two before these dates.
But after the Nov 26 Mumbai attack, in which terrorists held that city to ransom for 60 hours and killed over 170 people, things are different.
“We express our solidarity with the victims of Mumbai terror attacks. We are not arranging any special parties as we used to at this time of the year,” said A.K. Malhotra, general manager of the Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Corporation (CITCO).
“But restaurants and coffee shops at CITCO’s hotels like Mountview, Parkview and Shivalikview here will be open for the public like on any other day.”
“We will cater to all the guests coming there as our idea is that the show must go on and we should try to overcome the gruesome memories of the Mumbai tragedy at the earliest.”
Most clubs and discotheques have also decided to call off plans and say enthusiasm seems to be low even among the public.
“This time the response is also lukewarm, as till now we have not received any inquiry for bookings. We are not arranging any special party from our side but if anyone wants to arrange something then we are open to it,” said Mahender Singh, the manager of a discotheque here.
The public too has decided to usher in 2009 on a sombre note.
“Christmas and New Year celebrations hold great significance for us. However, this time we are not going anywhere for partying or to celebrate the occasion. Our conscience is not allowing us if we look back at what happened in Mumbai a month ago,” said Subodh Sharma, a young entrepreneur based here.
Malvika Bansal, a student of management studies here, said, “The disaster has struck not only Mumbai but also the whole nation. We are equally disturbed like other citizens.
“In fact, two of the families of this region have also lost four members in that tragedy. We cannot celebrate in one corner of the country if at another corner our innocent brothers and sisters are losing their lives.”