Families impose self-restriction for marriage

Only core members of the families take part in ceremony, advanced 

to 4 a.m. to comply with the curfew diktat

23/03/2020,S. SUNDAR  MADURAI

Unforgettable: This couple got married early in the day before the beginning of Janata Curfew in Madurai on Sunday. R. Ashok

After a long and meticulous planning for a marriage by two families from Chennai and Madurai, the ceremony took place on Sunday with a handful of people, following the Janata Curfew announced by the Prime Minister.

Seven months back, the bridegroom’s family near Chennai and the bride’s family in Madurai had booked a marriage hall in the heart of Madurai. Over 900 invitations were distributed and everything was set for a grand reception on Saturday followed by ‘muhurtham’ on Sunday morning.

But when the families and friends of the groom were planning to leave Chennai for Madurai, the news about the curfew reached them. By then it was too late for them to do anything. Only the core members of the groom’s family came to Madurai.

With the curfew beginning at 7 a.m. with no public transport, the families decided to advance the ‘muhurtham’ for the convenience of the guests. From 7.30 a.m. to 10.30 a.m., it was advanced to 4 a.m.

“We informed about the change in timing to those who were in Madurai. For the rest, we requested them to not take pains to make it to the marriage function. We told them that we will not feel bad about their absence,” said J. Sampath, 58, uncle of the groom.

Masks and sanitisers

Initially, the family planned to provide masks to all the guests and place sanitisers outside the hall as a precautionary measure. However, they could not manage to get both masks and the sanitisers.

All that the family could do was consciously avoiding handshake. “Instead we welcomed people with folded hands,” he said.

With only a few guests turning up, the marriage was solemnised early in the morning. By 7.00 a.m. most of them had left after having breakfast.

“Only the close relatives of the bride and groom stayed back. There was no disappointment at all for any of us. It is only a small contribution from our side to stop spreading COVID-19,” said Mr. Sampath.

Another couple

R. Kayalvizhi and I. Paul Vinoth was another couple who married at Poonga Murugan Temple in Madurai between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m.

Mr. Vinoth said around 2,500 invitations were distributed and a private hall was booked.

Earlier, the muhurtham was fixed between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. “We changed the entire plan after the announcement from the Prime Minister. We realised the gravity of the situation and decided to contribute our little part to curb the spread of COVID-19,” he said.

Thoothukudi

Shankar and Sivasankari from Thoothukudi had planned to get married at a Siva temple, but the permission to conduct the ceremony was denied after the Prime Minister’s announcement. So the couple got married at a Mariamman temple in Muniyasamypuram with just a limited number of family members. The couple also wore face masks during the ceremony to send home the message of social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

(With inputs from

P.A. Narayani)