Visakhapatnam: After a long lull, intimate wedding ceremonies gain pace

Visakhapatnam: After a long lull, wedding ceremonies are slowly picking up, albeit with less grandeur. The pandemic has certainly replaced the once lavish events with intimate gatherings, involving a few relatives and close friends.

With the active Covid-19 caseload witnessing a significant drop in the recent weeks, the cancelled wedding ceremonies are now being celebrated.

In the past one week, close to 50,000 wedding ceremonies were held in Visakhapatnam, including the ones hosted at homes. However, the count of the invitees has now been confined to the close circles as the focus is more on the quality rather than the quantity.

Earlier, K Bhargav Venkatesh and Navyasri had set a date for their wedding sometime around May. "But it was postponed to August as the pandemic was still raging. After revising the dates, they got married on October 29 amid strict adherence to Covid-19 protocols. We invited very few relatives and friends for the marriage and made sure the hotel where the wedding was held followed the guidelines meticulously," says K Chetan Sai, brother of the groom.

Latching on to the auspicious days, hotels in the city at last find the cash registers ringing. "The banquet halls are booked till January first week and the loss that we incurred earlier has now been halved. Though we are pinning hopes on making good of the lost revenues during the 'muhurtam' period, it still takes a long time for the hospitality sector to recoup the pandemic-induced losses," explains Sandeep Reddy, Group General Manager of Bajaj Group of Hotels.

Apparently, marriage ceremonies are going to double in the coming weeks as auspicious days dot the calendar till January 6. If the marriage parties miss these dates, they have to wait for months as 'moodam' (inauspicious days) is expected to continue till April next. For some, the ensuing 'Karthika masam' is not a much sought-after month for a wedding.

Also, 'muhurtam' eludes a few conservative families during the month that follows 'nelaganta' ritual which falls before Sankranti. "Even in Sastras, there are no restrictions to conduct marriages during Karthika masam and the 'nelaganta' period.

As there is no auspicious period for the first four months next year starting from January 7, many prefer to set the wedding dates before December," reasons Tenneti Srinivasa Sharma, 'Asthana panchanga kartha' (astrologer) for three temples, including Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Devasthanam.

With limited auspicious days ahead, brides and grooms plan a much more intimate wedding ceremonies in the coming weeks.