New Delhi   

Record weddings in Delhi

Staff Reporter

AN AUSPICIOUS DAY: A wedding procession in New Delhi on Wednesday . — PHOTO: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

NEW DELHI: A carnival atmosphere prevailed in the Capital on Wednesday as the city played host to thousands of weddings -- a record for the marriage season this year according to astrologers.

Thousands of anxious and excited couples exchanged vows on what was considered the "most auspicious" day of this year owing to a perfect alignment of heavenly bodies.

"We go by the `nakshatras' while deciding the date of a Hindu wedding. The two best `nakshatras' -- `Uttara Phalguni' and `Hasta' -- overlapped on December 13, which is very favourable for marriages," said astrologer Ajay Bhambi.

"The wedding season began on December 10 this year. As it is, we do not have more than 70 to 90 `shudh muhurats' in a particular year. But this time round, due to the close proximity of Venus and Jupiter to the Sun in October and November, no marriages were held this past month. Resultantly, there is a lot of rush this December."

The wedding season, according to Pandit Bhambi, will continue till March.

And expectedly tentwallahs and banquet hall owners are making a killing. Pradeep Kumar, owner of Pradeep Tent House, who had two functions to attend on Wednesday, was a happy man hoping to do good business this season.

"Our business during the rest of the year is very normal. It is only during the wedding season that the profits margins are higher. We have usually more than two assignments per day. It is indeed a very hectic schedule for us," he said.

Sandeep Jain, proprietor of Jain Caterers who organised four wedding ceremonies on Wednesday, said he was "completely booked" till this Friday.

Meanwhile, the Delhi traffic police have made special arrangements for the hectic marriage season.

"All intersections around the main wedding venues across the Capital will be manned. There will be constant patrolling in these areas. Also, cranes will be deployed to tow away vehicles parked on roads," said Qamar Ahmed, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic).

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Fighting their biggest battle
A peep into world's most spectacular events
Fog plays spoilsport with air passengers in Capital
New hope for honest power consumers
A slice of history from the Buddha to Nehru
Record weddings in Delhi
Three policemen convicted for custodial death
MoU signed with universities for research in policing
Congress accused of misleading people
Re-developed Central Park to open today
Congress blamed for sharp increase in prices
Flights disrupted
`Make Domestic Violence Act impartial'
Young man arrested for threatening MPs
Around the City
Briefly
In the Capital Today

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu