Akshay Tritiya prompts wedding rush in Delhi

Covid-19 has somewhat dampened the wedding spirit yet an estimate of 4,000-5,000 weddings are expected today, on Akshaya Tritiya, say wedding industry insiders. They also share what makes this date a favourite among couples.

It is said that Goddess Madhura and God Sundaresa — avatars of Goddess Parvati and God Shiva — got married on Akshaya Tritiya. The day is, hence, considered auspicious for couples wanting to tie the knot, for it’s believed that they will be blessed with prosperity and happiness. This is perhaps why Delhi will witness a wedding rush today, in addition to the usual gold rush.

Akshay Tritiya is considered an auspicious occasion for those wanting to get married. (Photo: Shutterstock (For representational purposes only))

“It’s interesting how Akshay Tritiya works in India. It’s believed to be one of the most auspicious days to get married. And a lot of people are getting married on Akshay Tritiya this year,” says Ruchika Arora Bansal, a Delhi-based wedding planner, adding, “Despite no muhurat, one can go ahead and exchange the wedding vows. Couples with mismatched horoscopes can also choose this day to get married. It’s believed that the sun and the moon are the most radiant and best placed on this date... If you compare it with the pre-pandemic days, there sure is a rush as people either have become very particular about getting married on saya dates or not getting married at all!”

Acharya Rajesh, who is based in Paschim Vihar, informs how he was inundated with calls to match kundalis to solemnise weddings on this date. “Yeh saal ka sabse shubh muhurat hota hai. Ismein lagan dekhne ki zarurat nahi padti. I am performing one wedding today, but I know other pundits who will be performing different weddings during the day, evening and the night,” he says.

If not for all, this day definitely is lucky for Ruchi Kaul, a Gurugram-based consumer researcher, who is getting married on Akshay Tritiya. “We had dealt with a couple of postponements, and then this date was suggested to us. It sort of fell into place because it’s a good saya. We had to book a lot of vendors last minute,” shares the excited bride-to-be.

“Although Covid-19 has somewhat dampened the wedding spirit, and it’s not like how it used to be, this Akshay Tritiya, an estimate of 4,000-5,000 weddings are expected,” says Anil Thadani, from Jea Band. And Neha Chaudhary, a Delhi-based makeup artist whose appointment diary is quite packed for the day, adds, “I got booked for May 3 back in December last year, but due to some last-minute changes in the dates by the bride, it got cancelled. One bride was unable to travel from the United States around this time. In between, I received multiple makeup queries for the same date, but since I was already booked I couldn’t take those. Luckily then, I got booked by other brides for the same date, who got their weddings planned at the very last minute, and blocked my calendar just 10 days back.”

Virender Chawla from Chawla Band informs his band company is fully booked for this date, but shares another concern: “Kaam to pura hai paar iss baar par market mein woh baat nahi hai jo pehle hoti thi. Pehle demand itni reheti thi ki customers ko booking hi nahi milti thi. Be it the fear of another Covid wave or the rising temperature, many weddings are being moved to November and December.”

Authors tweet @siddhijainn and @AngelaPaljor

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