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Shunya phase forces too many weddings in too short a time
Two hoots to GST. Though the new regime has made weddings very expensive this year, no one seems to be in the mood to curtail the extravaganza that accompanies them. As many as one lakh, yes you heard it right, one lakh weddings are scheduled to take place in Hyderabad in just a matter of one week from Nov 22 to 29.
Hyderabad: Two hoots to GST. Though the new regime has made weddings very expensive this year, no one seems to be in the mood to curtail the extravaganza that accompanies them. As many as one lakh, yes you heard it right, one lakh weddings are scheduled to take place in Hyderabad in just a matter of one week from Nov 22 to 29.
Wedding is a great occasion and therefore the ambiance and elegance have to be exceptional. Thousands of function halls in the capital have been booked though they were costing a bomb. When the season finally begins, one wonders how unwieldy the vehicular traffic will become which is a nightmare even on the normal days in Hyderabad.
Priest S Praneeth Sharma from Bala Tripura Sundari temple in Old Bowenpally says: “The forthcoming week of the month is Shunya Masam and it will last till March. We will not have any good muhurtam for weddings after this season. This is the reason why weddings are being scheduled in these seven days." As people are rushing for booking marriage halls, the demand has spiked. The owners of the halls are charging the moon, intent on making the hay while the sun still shines.
Manager of GMR Convention Centre in Patancheru M Santosh says, “Our functional hall is in great demand. We have three halls and all of them have been booked for the full week. The maximum that the convention centre charges is about Rs 5 lakh per wedding.
In this one week, priests, catering companies, photographers and those who decorate the kalyanamantapams make the killing. Says V Srikanth of Krishna caterings from Ayodhya Nagar, Mehdipatnam: “From November 23 to 27 we are very busy. We charge Rs 200 to Rs 1,500 per plate for the wedding dinner. As the cost has gone up, those who book the caterers are maintaining discipline by in inviting guests. This way they are avoiding unnecessary wastage."
There is a new trend sweeping the state capital. Wedding planners have crawled out from lanes and bylanes to render service for weddings. T Arun Kumar of Vajra Wedding Planners, Srinagar Colony, says, “There is a perceptible change in the attitude of the people. Instead of bothering to do everything by themselves, they are preferring companies like us. We plan everything necessary for a wedding. It comes in packages for various strata of society. For a middle-class family we charge up to Rs 10 to Rs 15 lakh, for an upper middle class the bill will be up to Rs 50 lakh and for the affluent sections it might even cross Rs 1 crore. This package covers food, stage decoration, photographs and so on."
A bride-groom, T Rohit Reddy, is excited about his wedding on November 25. It will be a 5-day affair and it is anybody's guess as to how much it is going to cost them. "In our culture, wedding goes on for five days. Though it is expensive, we dig for it. It is once a life time occasion and we want to have it big," he says.
