Janata Curfew: Family imposes self-restriction for marriage in Madurai

Only the core members of the groom’s family came to Madurai from Chennai and the ceremony was advance to 4 a.m. on Sunday

A couple got married early in the day before the beginning of Janata Curfew in Madurai on Sunday.

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, thanks to the Janata Curfew announced by the Prime Minister .

Seven months back the bridegroom’s family near Chennai and the brides family in Madurai 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 Janata Curfew announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi 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. and with the movement of public transport vehicles being cancelled, the families decided to advance the ‘muhurtham’ for the convenience of the guests.

The ‘muhurtham’ that was scheduled between 7.30 a.m. and 10.30 a.m. was advanced to 4 a.m.

“We informed about the change in the ‘muhurtham’ timing to those who were in Madurai City. 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 members had 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 the traditional folded hands,” he explained.

With only few scores of guests turning up, the marriage was solemnised early in the morning.

By 7.00 a.m. most of the guests had left for the hall after breakfast.

“Only a very few close relatives of the bride and groom stayed back in the marriage hall. It was absolutely no disappointment for any of us. It is only a small contribution from our side to stop spreading COVID-19 by having a limited guests at the marriage,” said Mr. Sampath.