Delhi wedding rush: 50,000 marriages on November 12? Brace yourself Delhiites!

The great Indian wedding season is just around the corner, and Delhiites must brace themselves for its grand start on November 12. Those living or travelling through the Capital are sure to spot some baaraat while maneuvering through a traffic jam! As per those associated with the wedding industry, there are almost 48,000 weddings expected to take place in NCR on the date, which will mark the start of the shubh saaya for weddings this winter.

“Delhi-NCR can expect to witness 50,000 weddings in Delhi on November 12,” says Piyush Sharma, owner of Hari Om Band in Rohini, adding, “The vendors who we deal with have been telling us about the high number of bookings they have received for this date.” Confirming the high number of bookings is also Virender Chawla, owner of Chawla Band, who confirms having received “40 bookings from across Delhi”. In addition, Manoj Sindhi, owner of Sindhi Hira Nand Ghori Wala in Karol Bagh, informs, “We’ve received around 30 bookings for ghodi in just Delhi, for this one date. If we add to this the requests we’re still receiving from Noida, Ghaziabad and Gurugram then it would be beyond us to manage so we decided that our band artistes will play in three shifts of morning, afternoon and evening.”

Besides being the first auspicious day, the date is also of significant relevance as per the astrologers. “November 12 is Dev Uthani Ekadashi or Prabodhini Ekadashi, which is an extremely auspicious day. It’s abhuj, which means that the muhurat is so auspicious that no consultation from any pandit is required. One can get married at any time on this day and no additional puja or rectification is required,” shares astrologer Ajai Bhambi. Elucidating on the relevance of this date, Pandit Ram Hari Sharma adds, “This day is shubh because it’s believed that God Vishnu wakes up after four months on this day. So one can plan for marriage as per the Hindu panchang as couples can marry irrespective of their kundalis and planetary placements. Even mangliks can get married on this day.”

This has also led to the make-up artists rolling their sleeves up, to meet the demands of the multiple bookings coming their way for the popular date. “Usually the wedding rush begins from October, but this year the shubh muhurat is kick-starting in November. This compelled the anxious brides to book for their make-up months in advance,” says Simran Arora, a professional make-up artist in East Delhi, adding, “Just for November 12 I’ve registered 35 bookings, out of which 10 are for bridal make-up. Now I can’t take any walk-ins for this date since we need to cater to the clients who have booked with us five months prior.”

(Story by Sana Kapoor)