Hyderabad(Hyd): The COVID-19-19 epidemic has completely turned the way the wedding ceremonies are conducted in Hyderabad(Hyd).
In this historical city well-known for big fat weddings with a long list of invitees, huge no. of lip-smacking dishes & nightlong celebrations, the marriages have becomes simple & largely a day relationship.
The COVID-19-19 scare took the sheen off the typical Hyderabadi marriages. The status has obliged the citizens to go for simple ceremonies with limited numbers of guests in smaller function halls & also throughout day time.
This has been something unimaginable in this city some mos back as even the middle class families habituated to vie with every different in hosting the wedding ceremonies in the largest & most famous function halls with hundreds of invitees.
The city of nawabs is well-known for ostentatious marriages & this has been witnessed as a social issue pushing numerous families into debt trap. Numerous persons & organisations functioning for reforms & advocating simple marriages had failed in their own measures.
Although, the COVID-19-19 outburst turned everything. The lock-down started in Mar when the marriage season has been in its peak. Following the govt orders, the marriage halls have been obliged to quash the bookings. Hundreds of marriages should be deferred.
Wherever the postponement wasn’t possible, the families organised the simple ceremonies in house with the list of invitees confined to quite a few close relatives.
After the easing of lock-down rules in May, marriages resumed in function halls however have been subject to numerous constraints like no. of guests, timing & social distancing.
Unlike in the last when even the middle class families habituated to look for the most spacious function halls, they initiated hosting the wedding ceremonies in smaller avenues.
The night curfew & fewer transport options available also obliged the families to go for day ceremonies.
“This is something unprecedented in last 20-25 yrs. in Hyderabad(Hyd) because almost all Muslim families in this city prefer weddings throughout night times,” stated Syed Abdul Rauf, a Sr. citizen.
During this last quite a few yrs., the marriages & Valima (the dinner hosted by this bridegroom a day (or) 2 after the wedding) has become a nightlong relationship. Late dinners has become common & the subsequent ceremonies also habituated to consume multiple hours.
The wedding & Valima dinners are an integral part of the social personal life in Hyderabad(Hyd). In the peak of the marriage season, citizens gain several invitations in a single day. Although, with the outburst of COVID-19-19 & resultant lock-down, numerous residents initiated missing the lively evenings with families & friends in the function halls.
Originally, numerous families deferred the marriages within the hope of an early end to the epidemic. Although, with no end in sight even after 6 mos, the families are implementing the marriages with all this constraints.
The families of bride & bridegroom are spending hardly a couple of hours in the function halls. The COVID-19-19 scare is also maintaining the guests far away.
“A family (4) invited 200 guests for a wedding just recently however only 100 changed up,” stated a manager of a function hall within the old city of Hyderabad(Hyd).
Wearing the masks, the invitees aren’t spending much time. Numerous are witnessed in a hurry to repatriate after greeting bridegrooms & brides & their own families.
Majority of these weddings are happening over lunch. 1 no longer sees luxurious menus. Most of the receptions are limited to a couple of dishes & sweet. This is now in overall contrast to the pre-COVID-19 status when several dishes in each wedding has been a common sight.
Socio-religious organisations & persons, who were functioning to bring reforms within the community, are happy to watch the shifts, albeit for various reasons. They hope that the society continues this new trend.
The report in Telangana (TL) State Wakf Board shows that the amount of marriages has come down because of COVID-19. Each yr. about 60,000 marriages are solemnised within the state with over 60 percent of them in Hyderabad(Hyd). This yr., till now only 30,000 marriages were played.
A couple of yrs. back, some of the organisations had even named for a boycott of ostentatious weddings within the society. They were appealing to the society to block luxurious expenditure, massive dowry, un-Islamic rituals, music & fireworks in the marriages.
They’d pointed out that the poverty-stricken & middle-class families are landing in a debt trap awhile trying to emulate the rich by taking massive loans to pay for the expenditure.
1 of these organisations, Tehreek-e-Muslim Shabban had initiated a campaign with the slogan ‘Ek khana, Ek meetha’ (1 dish, 1 dessert).
LD, a leading Urdu daily well-known for numerous social campaigns, had also thrown its weight behind the initiative.
LD, a leading Urdu daily well-known for numerous social campaigns, had also thrown its weight behind the initiative.
The Hyderabad(Hyd) chapter of All India(In) Jamiat-ul-Quresh, a body of meat traders & exporters, has even declared that it’ll enforce a fine of INR 50,000 in case any of its members are identified organizing extravagant weddings.
The Muslim society in Hyderabad(Hyd) spends multiple hundreds of crores each yr. on big fat weddings.
It’s estimated that lower middle-class & middle-class families spend anywhere between INR 5-15 lakh on weddings. The expenses on hiring the function halls & meal constitute regarding 50 percent of the overall expenditure.