Hindu Weddings: restricted muhurats
Priest Ganesh Prasad Mishra shared there have been only two marriage muhurats in the month of November, in which 1 date has passed on November 25, i.e. Tulsi Vivah.
“At the same time, there is no Muhurat till March next year as well. After this, those willing to get married must find and book an auspicious date in the 15-day bracket in May 2021,” he stated.
The initially Muhurta in November 2020 has passed on 25 November, now the subsequent date is nonetheless on 30 November.
“Muhurat is of great importance in marriage as it predicts the auspicious time and date of the marriage for maximum compatibility and a good life. Now, those willing to get married in December on the auspicious dates have only 5 such dates. The five dates to get married on auspicious dates in December 2020 are: December 1, 7, 9, 10, 11”
– Satpal Bhatt, head priest of Khajrana temple
Post-Christmas Weddings
“In Christian community in Indore, May is generally a preferred month for weddings as it is vacation month. However, this year, we cannot have weddings in May. Now, the community’s general preference and even advice goes to post Christmas weddings. In Advent season and Lenten season, weddings are avoided.”
– Father Thomas Rajamanikam
Most weddings planned in December
“According to Islamic calendar, we do not organise weddings during the month of Ramzan and Muharram. Now, due to covid-19, the weddings before Ramzan have been cancelled. From August 21 to September 21, the month of Muharram was observed, hence no weddings. Further, families required at least a month to plan the wedding. So, most weddings are planned for November end and December 2020.”
– Idris Mansuri, Muslim neighborhood spokesperson
Flying abroad: only December wedding achievable
“I got engaged last year and my fiancé stays in Atlanta, USA for his job, so he can only come back in December,” Surbhi Mistry, an artist, stated. She had been waiting for her dream wedding with her dream man for a year.
“Now, it seems difficult to even have a proper Indian wedding, due to coronavirus outbreak and so many couples looking for the ideal wedding setting,” Mistry stated.
Another such bride waiting for her NRI fiancé Himanshi Khare stated, “It is not just the venue, everything is tougher getting the right cake, right plans, right photographer, etc. because there are so many couples looking for the same. In fact, this competition has also hiked rates.”