Fasts, prayers held to mark Good Friday

Religious fasts and commemoration services were held across the country to mark Good Friday. In Mumbai, a 8216;walking pilgrimage8217; was organised where men and women dressed as characters of the Gospel presented a dramatised version of the crucifixion supplemented with narrations.

In Kerala, thousands of Christians took part in the 8216;way of the cross8217; processions, while churches in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry organised special prayers. In Orissa, church services and religious programmes were conducted as part of 8216;8216;Passion Week8217;8217; that stretches from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. In Bhubaneswar8217;s Niladri Vihar locality, Mel Gibson8217;s film, The Passion of the Christ, was screened. Tableaux of the crucifixion were taken out in several cities of Madhya Pradesh as Christians in Indore, Jabalpur, Gwalior, Ratlam and Bhopal observed a day8217;s fast. In Meghalaya, churches held prayers with a special evening mass at the Don Bosco cathedral at Laitumukhra in Shillong. 8212; PTI