“Dev-uthni ekaadashi” the first auspicious wedding occasion after 5 months witnessed more than 150 weddings in Udaipur city. The effect of pandemic and the effect of night curfew changed the wedding scene to something no one would have ever dreamt of.

Most of the wedding processions were shorter than the usual 2 to 3 km one. Every wedding venue had display boards reminding people of social distancing and those without masks were handed over the masks that were kept quite handy by all the wedding organisers. The guests were welcomed with masks, sanitisers and temperature machines apart from the flowers, and welcome tit-bits.

A good distancing was maintained between the food counters and a separate counter for masks was also kept. There were very few chairs facing the stage but the smiles of the bride and the groom could be felt behind the masks.

Around 150 gardens, more than 2 dozen community halls and 50 plus hotels witnessed the wedding funs. The hosts were quite careful about the number of guests as per the guidelines of the administration which state a penalty of 25,000 rupees for breaking rules.

It may be noted that administration has provided some leverage to the people attending weddings, yet people could be seen rushing back home much on time. It is also worth noting that most of the wedding “pheras” took place during the afternoon. By 9 p.m. the wedding venues were almost vacant.