How India Looked On The Day Of The Janata Curfew

On March 22, India hunkered down at home, heeding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to observe a 14-hour Janata Curfew to slow the spread of Covid-19. That sunday, the week photographers stepped out to document, as Modi tweeted, the “beginning of a long fight”

NO TRAFFIC TO CONTROL

Kiranmoy Manna, a traffic sergeant of Kolkata Police, at the Howrah Bridge that is usually teeming with vehicles. He supported the call for Janata Curfew, saying, “It is important to break the chain to defeat Covid-19. The world is facing a crisis now, as is our country, and I am happy to see very few people on the road today.”

PHOTO SALIL BERA

THE DIVINE AND THE QUARANTINE

Nearly 500 devotees visit the 150-year-old Thakur Dwara Temple in Lucknow daily, says its priest Narvadeshwar Shukla. On March 22, none turned up. “I am praying to God for this evil to go soon and to keep people safe and happy,” says Shukla, who is a fan of Modi

PHOTO PAWAN KUMAR

FAST, FOOD

Ved Prakash, who works for a food delivery app, says he wants to make as many trips as possible so that people stay home. But he adds, “Some residential societies are not allowing us inside, fearing we might be infected.”

PHOTO SANJAY AHLAWAT

AT SEA