As COVID-19 continues to affect every aspect lives, the impact on the wedding season in Kashmir is no different.
The peak wedding season in Kashmir that usually starts in the month of May has been reduced to a simple and close family affair.
Many families whose family members and close relatives are scheduled to be married this month said that all the plans that they had made on the big day of their loved ones had turned upside down. These families are cutting down the list of guests, and planning only austere feast with other traditions usually seen as an important part of a typical Kashmiri wedding.
Ali Muhammad, whose son is to be married in the next few days, told Greater Kashmir that after printing the wedding cards for around 300 guests they did not distribute even a single card.
“We were hoping that the COVID will subside and we can at least invite half the guests from the list. However, as the deaths are increasing by each passing day, it is better to invite close family and keep the whole wedding simple,” said Ali Muhammad, a resident of Harwan.
On a usual wedding season as the people are seen busy with Waza (master chef) and other wedding business related persons, Kashmiris were seen queuing at the DC offices to get permissions to hold their weddings.
As the rush at the DC office Srinagar grew, the district administration Srinagar floated ‘ShaadiPaas’, an online platform to get e-passes for the weddings.
An official from the district administration Srinagar said that the administration was making sure that wedding ceremonies do not become the reason of COVID-19 cases in Kashmir to rise.
“It is obvious we can’t stop people from getting married but if all the SOPs are followed, the risk can be minimised to a great extent. We have opened all the online channels for the convenience of people but it is important to follow the SOPs in letter and spirit,” the official said.
Although many people are applying for the wedding passes online, others received the permission in person before the service was started.
Muhammad Younis, whose brother is getting married on Sunday, said that they went to the DC Office on 17th May to get the permission in person.
“As per the permission around 25 guests are allowed and there must be only 12 guests with the groom (Baraat). We have a large family but we choose to stick to the lowest possible guest list as it is for the safety of everyone,” he said.
The marriages in Kashmir are relatively a big and inclusive affair.
The guest list can go up to 600 guests. The Shamiyans (tents) are put up to accommodate the guests and a big team of Wazas are busy for days to cook the feasts.
Younis said that their plan to utilise over 500 kg meat and chicken for the wedding feast was reduced to 50 kg as the wedding was reduced to a few guests.
As per the permission granted by the district administration, in addition to a reduced guest list there are around 8 different SOPs defined on the permission letter.
These include the number of guests allowed, wearing of face shields, avoiding marriage in contamination zones, use of thermal scanner, hand sanitizers, frequent sensitisation of the area and social distancing.
Last year many weddings were postponed hoping for respite in COVID this year. Many families said that they were not delaying further and holding simpler weddings instead.
Few days back after launching the ‘ShaadiPaas’, DC Srinagar AijazAsad said that the administration would facilitate in every possible way as long as SOPs were not violated.
He has also instructed the families to keep local police stations in loop so that everything goes on smoothly.