Love in the time of coronavirus: Great Indian lockdown wedding takes place

Hashtag #WFM maybe ‘Work from home’ for you, but for this Indian couple, it was ‘Wedding From Home’. Sushen Dang and Keerti Narang had a big fat Indian wedding planned, and they would not let a nationwide lockdown, or even the fact that they were stuck in two different cities, stop them from getting married. On April 19, the couple tied a knot over a zoom call, band, priest, family and all that.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, all their initial plans were cancelled, and both of them were stuck in two different cities – Dang in Mumbai and Narang in Bareilly.

The idea came from a popular Indian matrimonial website that advertised the concept of wedding from home. The website facilitated the wedding and called it the “Great Indian Lockdown Wedding.”

The families chalked out a strategy for the online wedding. The Mumbai-based groom would join in from his city and the bride will come online from Bareilly along with all relatives joining from all over the country.

Indian news website News18.com posted an article ahead of the wedding, in which Dang said that nothing was difficult to arrange including the priest and the band. He felt the restrictions might be in place for longer so he didn’t want the families to waste time. He added: “It’s a pretty Gen-Z thing. Being responsible citizens feels good.”

According to an article by news website, businessinsider.in: “Just because it was online, doesn’t mean that they didn’t have all the functions involved in an Indian wedding .... Keerti’s mehendi ( traditional henna design on her hand) even read ‘Love in the time of Corona'."

Narang posted a live link of the wedding on her Facebook page:

A well-wisher, Sakshi Singhal replied to the video: “Well this is new and innovative and certainly amazing...wish you a very very happy married life and super congratulations to the awesome couple.”

While another, Gargi Anand Kochhar commented: “Congratulations dear! Online wedding sounds cool… wish you a happy married life ahead!”

Did you celebrate any occasion with friends or family online during the coronavirus pandemic? Share your story with us on readers@gulfnews.com.