Arnab Kumar Bhattacharya had always dreamt of welcoming guests to his wedding with the auspicious haldi, chandan and rose. Alas, his guests at AA Block community hall were welcomed with hand sanitiser.
Priyanka Chakraborty of AB Block, New Town, had planned a big, fat Indian wedding spanning seven days. “I was to have many foreign nationals coming in and would have shown them every Indian ritual in the book,” she says wistfully. Alas, her social marriage was skipped and the registration had 25 guests with the foreigners watched the proceedings on Zoom!
Namrata Roy Poddar had to shift her wedding out of BA Block community hall and into her own home. The groom sat on the terrace, adorned in topor and mask, while she sat in her study that had been transformed into a wedding hall by decorators.
Welcome to wedding season 2020, where no more than 50 guests are allowed, where the priest chants mantras from behind a mask and where dinner is served in packets to be relished after a guest reaches home.
While most weddings slotted this season are getting postponed, a few bravehearts-cum-romantics are taking the plunge anyway. Some are doing it as they have unwell relatives who want to see the wedding solomnised, others because there’s no telling how long they would have to wait for the pandemic to end. But in the bargain, they are facing and tackling unprecedented hurdles.
A masked Arnab Kumar Bhattacharya offers a treat to his bride Rituparna at their reception in AA Block
A wedding being webcast on Facebook live
DIY trousseau
Priyanka had wanted to buy her wedding sari directly from weavers in Benaras but since that didn’t happen, she wore her mother’s wedding sari.
When Namrata got married, in mid June, shops had barely opened. “I booked a Benarasi sari online but also bought one from CA Market, just in case the former didn’t land up. Lata Poddar, who runs a boutique in BA Block, supplied saris for the tatwo and did my make-up. But what really drove me up the wall was getting the blouses stitched,” she recalls.
With no reputable tailoring shop open, Namrata had to resort to a footpath tailor in GC Block to alter her wedding blouse. “As for the blouses for gaaye holud and aiburo bhat, I myself had to thread a needle and do the needful the night before the wedding,” says the the NIFT alumni, who works as a merchandiser.
In fact, when no invitation card shops could be found open, Namrata painted herself and her groom and took 25 printouts to invite guests.
Designer Namitha R. Dalmia, who runs Ssidhh Studio in Kankurgachhi, has created outfits for five or six weddings this season. “Some are negotiating the price, citing the poor economy or claiming that only 50 people would witness the wedding but I’m reasoning that since every other department has got trimmed down, the families have more to spend on the lehengas,” says the AJ Block resident. The outfits come with matching masks. “Many are placing orders now for winter weddings.”
Previously Namitha’s clients would celebrate sangeets, mehendis, pool parties, Sufi nights, poker nights and casino nights in the run-up to the big day but now she’s only designing for the basics — mehendi and wedding.
Who to leave out
When Arnab got hitched on July 2, he had to give the police in writing that there would be no more than 25 attendees, including himself and his bride. “A day before the wedding, the government extended the limit to 50 guests so I had to rush to invite 25 more people,” he recalls.
At the venue, they erected a barricade in front of themselves, forcing a distance between themselves and guests.
To avoid awkward situations among friends, some couples are inviting only family. “Eighteen guests were invited to my engagement, all of whom were immediate family. My fiance and I have a large group of friends whom we couldn’t invite but my cousins set up a Zoom link for them to watch,” said Anant Banka, who got engaged to Rashi Agarwal at an open ground in New Town, hoping it would allow better air circulation.
Home or hotel
Namrata Roy Poddar and husband Dibyendu pose in masks at their wedding
Priyanka Chakraborty and Sombit Chowdhury’s registry is watched on Zoom by a friend
Arnab’s bride Rituparna’s family had booked the hall for their July wedding by standing in queue from 3am on January 1. “That’s how coveted that hall near Dum Dum cantonment is and we didn’t have the heart to cancel this the venue. The reception took place at AA Block community hall after thorough sensitisation,” he says.
While Priyanka and Sombit Chowdhury settled for a registry, they performed a Narayan puja at her New Town home beforehand. “It was there that we realised social distancing was impossible at home, even with 25 guests,” says the lawyer, who then chose Ibis hotel. “We book the 150-capacity hall for 25 people.”
Sumanta Maity, general manager of Golden Tulip hotel, says they have hosted over 10 weddings this season. “Previously our priority would be good food and quick service but now it’s safety! While most weddings have been postponed, some are spreading their festivities over several days so as to break the guest list up somewhat and invite as many as possible,” he says. Ritu Agarwal, who runs a wedding planning company called Ritvan Events, said she had organised three weddings between June and August.
“Most people are opting for hotels as hotels are following all norms. The workers setting up the stage, lights and sound are working in different shifts and that too not more than four workers are allowed in the venue at a time,” she says.
Travel trouble
Given the challenges of commuting, couples are trying to wrap out proceedings early. “The logno of our wedding was at 8.35pm so we couldn’t help it but the reception was held in the afternoon. It was an unusual hour but back then, a curfew would come into force at 9pm. How would guests get home after that?” says Namrata.
Priyanka too had to wrap up early as the next day had been declared a state lockdown. “We stayed the night at my New Town house and left for my in-law’s place in the morning. Since my husband is a doctor his car has a doctor’s sticker and the police did not stop us,” she says.
But nothing beats a wedding party that came to Baisakhi Abasan from Chhattisgarh in early June. In fact, they caused ample consternation among residents when they launched themselves into the proceedings without the 14-day quarantine that was supposed to have been followed after inter-state travel.
Another wedding at Baisakhi took place on the first day of the weekly state lockdown — on July 29. “The estate officer cancelled permission to use the community hall and we had to seek the MLA’s intervention to hold the wedding,” said Sukhendu Khamaru, secretary, Baisakhi Abasan Samity.
Buffet for five at a time
Numerous theories have surfaced as to the safest way to treat guests to dinner this season.
Arnab had a sit-and-eat as the caterer said a buffet would have people piling on top of one another for helpings. Namrata had the pulao-mangsho-chingri malai curry packed into boxes and handed out for guests to eat in the safety of their own homes.
Asparagus Hospitality, an event management group, prefers buffet as it does it not require waiters to go up close to guests and serve. “And we are serving only five diners at a time,” says Pritam Dutta of the CA Block firm. In fact, they are going a step ahead and allotting separate time slots for friends and relatives to prevent crowding.
And even though the guest list may be miniscule, they are packing dinner for relatives who did not come. “In case no one showed up from a particularly family, we are delivering food home so the average number of heads we cook for is 70,” says Pritam.
Dasgupta Caterers of Chinar Park has stopped cooking at the wedding venue and only delivers now. “Because of this, starters like kebabs have disappeared from the menu. Kebabs need to be served hot but without a live counter that’s not possible,” says manager Narayan Kundu. “Besides, catering for 40 people is not cost effective for us so we aren’t too eager to cater to weddings now.”
Swade o Ahare, that has kitchens in AE Block and Sector V, has delivered food for a handful of weddings this season. “Most are at homes and we are not staying back to serve unless expressly requested,” says Subhrajit Boral, who runs the unit. “In case some guest gets Covid later, no one will blame their own family members. Fingers will point at us outsiders and we don’t want to take the chance.”
Picture imperfect
A wedding ceremony on at Baisakhi
FD Block’s Kritika Goel in her Sangeet lehenga and matching mask from Ssidhh Studio Pictures sourced by The Telegraph
When Studio Manorama got an offer to shoot a wedding in July, they jumped at the offer. “Safety and precautions we would manage later. But during such a lean period we need to embrace whatever business comes our way,” says Dwaipayan Chakraborty of the CF Block studio. In the pre-Covid era they would have got 15 to 20 contracts in this period.
While they usually sent six to seven still and video photographers to weddings, they have trimmed it down to three now. “It’s working out fine as the number of guests, rituals, and of course, budget have all got slashed,” Chakraborty says.
Indrajit Bhattacharya, partner at a photography agency called Wedding Bells, would even use drones to capture moments back in the day. “But now weddings are a subdued, compulsory celebration. All that jazz and bling are gone,” he says.
At a wedding they covered recently, Indrajit says almost everyone began the day wearing a mask but let their guard down as the day progressed. “And for photos, everyone would take off their masks to show off their happy faces for the record,” says the CL Block resident.
Social distancing has also sent for a toss the customary group photo of guests with the couple on the stage. “People from the same family were eager to be clicked together but there was a lack of trust, and rightly so, when it comes to clicking with people living in different houses or from different families. The shooting experience was odd,” Indrajit says.
Incidentally, the couple his company clicked stays in Hyderabad. They reached Calcutta a fortnight ahead of the wedding and stayed in quarantine to avoid any mishap.
Mantras through the mask
Priest Nilratan Mukhopadhyay, who has officiated weddings in both Salt Lake and New Town this season, says he has been sanitising flowers, plates and pidis before offering the couple. “And if they cannot make out the mantras through my mask I’m removing it,” says the priest who is being ferried to the venue on his son’s bike. The son is helping out with rituals in the absence of his assistants.
Marriage registrars are in a fix. “The legal procedure requires us registrars to be photographed along with the couple. If the bride, groom and registrar stand apart as per social distancing norms how are they to fit in one photo frame? How are they to fit in the small offices that many registrars work out of?” asks Susmita Chakraborty of BF Block. “And of course, masks have to be removed for the pictures, making it all the more unsafe.”
Banasree Chatterjee, general secretary of the Progressive Marriage Officer’s Association, proposes that this photo requirement be removed till the pandemic lasts. Chatterjee, whose jurisdiction includes Salt Lake and New Town, says 50-60 weddings on her calendar this season have been put on hold.
“There is online provision now for certain steps of the registration but the site is down half the time,” says Chatterjee. “Couples have been trying to register online during the pandemic, failing to do so and blaming us for it!”
Best time to get hitched
Despite the hiccups, a BC Block youth is rather envious of those getting married now. “Think of how much money they are saving,” he laughs. Too bad he doesn’t have a lady in mind to take his vows now.
Priyanka says the pandemic has meant zero interference from pesky neighbours. Her husband Sombit says they were spared from visiting unending relatives post wedding and were instead able to set up a mini bar at home in the time they saved. “Everyone should get married in the lockdown,” he laughs.
With foreign destinations out of the fray, the couple took off for Diamond Harbour for their honeymoon and almost had the near-empty resort to themselves. “We went to Mandarmoni again on August 15 but it so crowded we stayed indoors,” says Sombit. “Either way, I’m glad I lived up to my promise to Priyanka: ‘lockdown or no lockdown, dilwale dulhaniye le jayenge!’”
Additional reporting by Showli Chakraborty