Gujarat: Nuptials at Re 1 as corona hits pocket

AHMEDABAD: If marriages are made in heaven, in this community the price of acquiring that blessing is just Re 1.
The Saatso (700) Kadva Patidar Samaj of Visnagar has conceived an initiative to mitigate the effects of the Covid crisis. Under the initiative, couples can marry for a token amount of Re 1 in a public ceremony.
The expenses for the party plot, decorations, food, wedding dresses, and gifts are borne by the community organization.
“The pandemic has caused financial troubles for many. People from our community have come forward to help,” said Kirtibhai Patel, the chairman of Saatso Kadva Patidar Samaj Vivekanand Charitable Trust.
The influential Patel community is known for big fat weddings costing crores. But due to Covid restrictions, only 100 people — 50 from each side — are allowed to attend weddings. The wedding cost organized by the samaj would be Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000.
On Saturday, the samaj conducted the first wedding at a Visnagar venue. Deesa Patel of Shahpur village near Visnagar and Akshay Patel of Anandpura village married after shelling out Re 1.
The samaj has 7,000 families as members in Vadnagar, Visnagar, Vijapur, Surat, Vadodara, Mumbai, and Ahmedabad. The samaj had planned a mass marriage ceremony on December 6. Every couple was to pay Rs 25,000. In all, 30 weddings were scheduled but Covid curbs nixed the programme. Eventually, many community members stepped in to financially help those planning weddings in the time of corona.
“Some offered to serve food while others foot the bill for the party plot,” said Kiritbhai Patel. He said that the community was planning to charge Rs 5,000 per couple but a credit society formed by the community decided to bear that expense too.
The couples availing the Re 1 scheme cannot hold a post-wedding reception. This is to minimize the risk of infections and to encourage people to save money.