Brides & grooms count days to tie the nuptial knot

Visakhapatnam: A lesser number of favourable 'muhurats' coupled with stringent norms of Covid-19 poured cold water on the sweet dreams of prospective brides and grooms last year.

Those who wished to celebrate their wedding on a grand scale postponed it for a later date.

However, unlike the previous year that witnessed fewer weddings with restricted invitees not exceeding 50, wedding parties hope for better days ahead.

Amid the use of masks and hand sanitisers, the otherwise big fat weddings may not be as glitzy as it used to be earlier.

After getting engaged in the month of February, Amit Gunnam is looking forward to entering the wedlock in June. Carefully short-listing the guests, the bridegroom says that the ceremony is going to be simple with limited invitees. "From serving the feast to managing the guests, everything has to be planned in a meticulous manner as more attention is paid to safety of the guests. 'Sangeet' has been excluded from the celebrations.

Even the wedding shopping has been confined to Visakhapatnam and Kakinada as we do not wish to take any risk in times of the pandemic by travelling far off places. Except for jewellery, a major chunk of the shopping is also done online," elaborates Amit Gunnam.

For many parents, planning for the joyous occasion is not easy either. Sharing their plans with The Hans India, VLS Sastry, a parent, says, "Seven months back, we planned for the wedding ceremony of our daughter in a big way with 1,000 guests in our list.

However, we could not proceed due to the pandemic-imposed restrictions. Now, the date has been rescheduled to May, of course, with limited invitees."

Listing auspicious days of the year, associate fellow at Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Telugu (CESCT) Rambhatla Venkata Raya Sarma says, "In May and June months alone, there are close to 34 suitable days for the wedding ceremony. Barring 'Ashada masam' 'Bhadrapada masam' and 'Pushya masam', most part of the year appears to be favourable for the wedding ceremonies."

With 'moodami' concluding by April end, prospective brides and grooms count days to tie the nuptial knot as a number of auspicious days have been lined up from May.