With wedding halls across the State remaining shut for over three months as part of efforts to arrest the spread of COVID-19, an art designer in Udumalpet, Tiruppur district, has come up with a “mobile wedding hall” to continue providing the experience of celebrations.
A. Abdul Hakkim, who has been an art designer for nearly 20 years, constructed a wedding stage at the back of his truck. “I wanted to help those unable to hold their weddings in these [COVID-19] times,” he told The Hindu over phone on Tuesday.
The “mobile wedding hall” is moved to the location preferred by the marriage parties.
Masks also on offer
Mr. Hakkim and six of his staff members then arrange the stage. A total of 50 chairs, as mandated by the State government, are placed in front of the stage.
Masks and sanitisers are also provided for those attending the wedding, he said.
Other items such as carpets, flower decorations, attractions for children and provisions for dining are also set up, Mr. Hakkim said.
Following its inauguration on July 11, a wedding reception was held on the “mobile wedding hall” in Udumalpet, he said.
The initiative has already received five bookings from people living in and around the Udumalpet block. “Although we are currently in Udumalpet, we are ready to go to any part of Tamil Nadu or even India,” Mr. Hakkim said.
Cheaper option
Questioned about the charges for his services, he said that the entire cost would only work out to “around 20-25%” of the usual expense for wedding halls.
M. Kannan, district joint secretary of the AIADMK advocate wing, inaugurated the mobile wedding hall on July 11. “With weddings being held in temples or houses during the lockdown, this ‘mobile hall’ will give the parents [of the bridegroom or the bride] some satisfaction about being able to provide the atmosphere of a wedding hall,” he said.
Minister for Animal Husbandry Udumalai K. Radhakrishnan had also appreciated the initiative, Mr. Kannan said.
