Everything can stop, but there is no stopping love! While thousands of weddings stand cancelled amidst the pandemic and national lockdown in India, the couples are getting creative in tying the knot. There is no stopping the ones who have set their hearts in marrying the love of their life right away. Well, Indians have been known for their fat weddings that are a dazzling multi-day affair. The massive industry draws millions of rupees each year just for the sheer pageantry glamour. However, in our coronavirus-affected world, these weddings have taken the face of a slim affair of screen times.
Online Weddings
Recently, adapting the situation, various couples are tying their knots online via zoom calls. Destination weddings are not happening anytime soon. Keerti Narang and Sushen Dang decided to tie the knot that way. They cancelled their destination wedding at Jim Corbett National Park. And, instead, they married on April 19 over a two-hour Zoom video call with 150 guests joining in. (Source: The Hindu) Hence, going easy on the wedding setups and rather focusing on the love shared is the new normal. Many Indians recently decided to resort to online weddings.
Marrying in the Clouds — Zoom weddings are the new destination weddings in India. Plus, there are annexed benefits of hassle-free logistical settings. Going easy on the number of invitees is the new ‘normal’, even if it is not a virtual setup. A pandit to chant the mantras, close family and friends are all the crowd that the couple needs. Thus, this shall mark the return of ‘intimate’ weddings in the nation.
The wedding industry instigates derived business for ethnic apparels, jewellery, hospitality, flowers, transportation, and catering industries. A recent KPMG report estimated India’s current wedding market at $50 billion, growing rapidly every year. With close to half of India’s 1.3 billion-strong population under the age of 30 and more than 10-12 million weddings held annually, a steady flow of future nuptials seemed assured. But no one could have foreseen that just a pandemic could haul the industry to rock bottom.
Shift to Intimate Weddings
The pandemic has made the masses socially anxious. No one wants to venture out unless safety assured. Even with safety norms being followed, people are sceptical of heading out unless absolutely necessary. Therefore, the return of mindfulness to the wedding scenario. Destination weddings can’t happen for at least some time to come until travel becomes as seamless as before. Hence, the immediate future holds scope for weddings in city temples, gardens, boutique hotels and even a couple’s favourite restaurant. Otherwise, for now, zoom weddings are already going on in full swing. There is no scope, however, for a big fat wedding.
Lockdown Weddings
People are not holding weddings and events despite government guidelines. Recently, Telugu actor Nikhil Siddhartha tied the sacred knot with Dr Pallavi Varma in an intimate ceremony in Hyderabad on May 14. The #NikPal wedding even included innovative decorations saying ‘Mask Here, Sanitisers There, Love Everywhere’. Family members and close friends were the only attendees. The masks and sanitizers were necessary at this wedding as well. Read Wedding Affair’s coverage of the wedding here. They ditched their anticipated big fat wedding for an intimate one for everyone’s safety.
Jyoti Ranjan Swain and Rojalin of Jagatsingh and Ashish Ranjan Swain and Vaishali of Cuttack district have a different story. This story was posted by The Quint. These couples used funds from their marriage expenses to donate money to the less fortunate in Odisha during the lockdown. Jyoti and Rojalin donated Rs 10,000, Ashish and Vaishali donated Rs 40,000 to the chief minister’s relief fund.
Hence to each their own. The couples will make their weddings as personal and uniques as possible, concept-wise. The traditional and mundane ‘big fat’ wedding is not for pandemic times.Â
Recently, the Karnataka government allowed weddings, considering less than 50 people are invited. And among other guidelines, imposing a ban on liquor and ensuring the safety checks on the guests. Maybe, for now, this will be the ‘new normal’. Hence, one might predict intimate weddings as the new normal.
