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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2012
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Wedding dates tailor made Planning a wedding this summer may not be a good idea with no auspicious dates between March and October this year Sudeshna Koka sudeshna.k@postnoon.com
M
arriages in Hyderabad are an opulent affair. But this time round the City will witness one of its longest lulls in terms of wedding celebrations. If you’re wondering why then you can lay the blame of the stars. The new Telugu almanac (Panchangam) will officially be released only after Ugadi in March 2012. However, religious pundits say that there are no auspicious days (muhurats) for weddings for the Telugu community between March and October this year. Expectedly, the news has come as a shocker for many prospective brides, grooms and their families. “Usually most Telugu weddings take place in the summer months. But this year we have moodam (inauspicious period) for eight months,” says Ram Mohan Sarama, an almanac expert. This phase lasting eight months has come after 15 years. For people planning a wedding this news calls for immediate action. “We have advanced our wedding date due to this. Earlier, we had planned to get married in
May but now we have moved it to early February,” says Venkat V, a businessman. In a cascading effect, this lack of weddings spells losses for those in the wedding business. Priests, marriage hall owners, wedding planners, bands, florists, transporters, cloth merchants, jewellers, catering firms and others are taking a beating. “We have a few wedding dates booked between March and October. However, it’s not like previous years. We are expecting a few more bookings in the months to come,” says Vinayank Vengal, owner, Sri Rajeshwari Gardens. For a determined few, this lack of aupicious dates is not a deterrent. They are working their way around it by opting for special poojas to ward off any ill-effects. “I have been in the industry for more than two decades now and phases like these occur. These days, the trend is to perform some poojas and carry on with the wedding. I have seen many such cases. In fact, I think this is a way to
Where the wheels do the talking Sudhakar Yadav, Guiness World Record Holder unveiled his creations, the Sofa Set Car (with a 150 cc engine) and a Dining Table Car (with 150 cc Engine) at The Country Club on Wednesday. Sudhakar builds cars with a difference and has several records to his name
PICS: N SHIVA KUMAR
make money — first highlighting a problem and then offering a solution. I don’t have any bookings, but I am sure people will come up with solutions,” says Rajesh Kumar, owner, Leela Gardens. SV Nagesh, an astrologer, believes that this is a money-making gimmick. He says, these days the Panchangam is written keeping personal whims in mind. “These days, we cannot trust the Panchangam. Earlier, it used to be written after several poojas and with a pure mind, but today it is different. When they say there are no auspicious days, then how do they come forth with meeting the requirement of muhurats all of a sudden,” he says. “My family is searching for an auspicious date for my wedding. Earlier, the priest said there were no favourable dates. But now I have learnt that they are getting a santhi pooja and fixing a pettudu muhurtham (a cooked-up auspicious time),” says Krishna Murthy, a software engineer.