These Before-And-After Images Show How Coronavirus Has Changed The Way We Celebrate Festivals

Festivals are a part of one¡¯s custom, culture and religion. They are a way for people of the same faith to come together, rejoice and celebrate events that hold importance for them. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has put a stop to all that and not just in India, but across the world. Here's what these celebrations look like now.

1. Punjab

Left: Sikh devotees pay their respects at the Golden Temple in Amritsar on the occasion of Baisakhi on April 14, 2019. Baisakhi marks the Sikh New Year and is also the spring harvest festival for Sikhs.

Right: The Golden Temple wears a deserted look during the government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Amritsar on April 14, 2020.

2. Kolkata

Left: Devotees celebrate Haalkhata Puja at Dakshineswar Kali Temple on Noboborsho.

Right: Dakshineswar Temple stands closed on Bengali New Year on April 14, 2020 due to the lockdown.

3. Jerusalem's Old City

Left: Thousands of Jewish worshippers take part in the priestly blessing, a prayer which takes place during the holiday of Passover at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City on April 13, 2017.

Right: The number of Jewish worshippers during this year's priestly blessing are not even half the number the year before.

4. France

Left: A waiter walks through a sea of tourists seated in front the Arles arena in southern France during the Easter Feria, on April 11, 2004.

Right: A cat takes a casual stroll in front of the now-deserted Arles arena.

5. Nepal

Left: Hindu devotees pull a wooden chariot through the crowd at Durbar Square during the nine-day-long Nepalese New Year celebrations in Bhaktapur on April 10, 2019.

Right: The same place lies abandoned on the first day of the Nepalese New Year, on April 13, 2020.

6. Thailand

Left: People play with water during the Songkran Water Festival celebrations to commemorate the Thai New Year in Bangkok on April 13, 2019.

Right: The same square at Central World shopping mall stood empty on April 13 this year.

7. Varanasi

Left: Pilgrims attend the evening prayer at Dashashwamedh Ghat on the banks of the Ganges river in Varanasi on May 3, 2019.

Right: A lone Hindu priest performs the evening prayer during the government-imposed nationwide lockdown, as pictured on April 9, 2020.

8. Yangon

Left: Locals celebrate on the eve of Myanmar's New Year water festival (Thingyan) at Mahabandula park in front of the city hall in Yangon on April 12, 2019.

Right: The same park remained empty on the first day of Thingyan on April 12, 2020.

9. Jerusalem's Old City

Left: Worshippers carry wooden crosses during a Good Friday procession on Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem's Old City on April 6, 2018.

Right: This year there was no procession after Israel took stringent steps to contain the coronavirus disease,

10. Patna

Left: Devotees take a holy dip in the Ganges in Patna on April 14, 2019 on the occasion of 'satuani.'

Right: This year on April 14, the number of devotees who showed up was barely half the usual count.

11. Italy

Left: Locals attend the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession led by Pope Francis during Good Friday celebrations at the Colosseum in Rome, Italy on April 19, 2019.

Right: The Colosseum grounds stood empty this year.

12. Thailand

Left: Locals seen celebrating the Songkran Water Festival to commemorate the Thai New Year at Silom Road in Bangkok, Thailand April 13, 2017.

Right: A view of the same street post the outbreak, on April 13 this year.