Docs prescribe their virtual wedding

Docs prescribe their virtual wedding

INSTEAD OF POSTPONING THE DAY, THE DUO DECIDED TO GO ONLINE

Melvyn.ReggieThomas@timesgroup.com

Surat:  09.12.2020

Belonging from a well to-do family in Surat city and MD pathologist herself, Dr Neha Pokharna had always dreamt of grand wedding with her would-be doctor husband from Mumbai. But, the coronavirus pandemic greeted her with the unexpected gifts — lockdown, quarantine, social distance and restrictions on the guests. So, Pokharna decided not to cancel the wedding planned on December 9 in Surat and convinced both her families for a ‘virtual wedding’.

Dr Pokharna and Dr Prabodh Garg, MD, Pulmonary, in Mumbai will have an online wedding on Wednesday which will be attended virtually by their close friends and relatives. For this, Pokharna and few of his family members travelled to Mumbai where the virtual wedding has been planned at a resort.

The guests were sent out wedding invitations on the WhatsApp with the simple message ‘considering the current pandemic, we seek your precious blessing and virtual presence by being kind enough to access the wedding with the virtual Youtube link’.

Over 2,000 guests are likely to attend the wedding online.

On Tuesday, they also held an online mehendi, and a sangeet ceremony which was performed according to the Hindu custom which was streamed online.

“Being a pathologist, I understand the seriousness of the pandemic. To set an example, I let go of my dream for a grand wedding and made it a simple family affair through a virtual wedding. For me, health and safety of my family and relatives is the most important,” said Pokharna.

“This is a message to the society that the pandemic is going to stay and we have to live with it. Once it is over, may be we can plan a grand reception,” she added.

Dr Garg told TOI, “Coronavirus pandemic has changed our lives from good to bad, but we have to accept and move on. Grand marriage is everyone’s dream, but considering the potential danger Covid-19 poses, we felt that a virtual wedding is a better option than not having a wedding at all.”

Pokharna’s brother Yuvraj Pokharna, who is an academician in Surat told TOI, “We had decided to cancel the marriage initially, but then we thought of a virtual wedding. An invitation was sent to Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, who also has blessed the couple.”

Dr Pokharana with her fiance