Dateline Dehradun: Three months into this lockdown has seen authorities busy sorting through hundreds of applications of wanna-be-brides and grooms asking for permission so that their wedding bells can start chiming.
Post April the 20th 2020, the City Magistrate’s Office in Dehradun has received close to eleven hundred applications requesting permission for weddings to be held within the city’s limit alone.
Adding to this SDM Gopal Chandar, Dehradun Sadar, tells us: “We give hand-to-hand permission for weddings with mandatory rules and regulations highlighted.”
All set to tie the knot in early May, local entrepreneur Viplav Goel, says: “This lockdown has stalled plans. Venues aren’t available, temples were closed, large gatherings are banned. Mine is an inter-state wedding which requires travel permits. All in all it has thrown a massive damper over all plans.”
Even the pandits are predicting an auspicious constellation of stars in June and early July that in the past were no-go months for tying-the-knot.
Anukriti of Plan-Your-Memories, an event and wedding management firm in Dehradun, is trying to convert regrets into a great experience. They say: “In a few days from now, we shall be showcasing our first marriage after the present lockdown. A decent wedding package for 70-100 people would be around 6-7 lakhs pre-covid days, but now with only fifty persons allowed in one wedding, the cost cutting will lead to a drastic fall in pricing. We will be looking at around one and a half lakhs or so. It attracts more clients for sure.”
Of course a few would-be-couples aren’t willing to compromise and postponing their dday for better times ahead while others have now started looking for substance behind the style.
‘Ding-dong the bells are going to chime, and many will be going to the mandap in time!’
