Kharagpur Wedding, Lockdown: The bride's aunt gave her away.
In stark contrast to the glittering, crowded wedding in Karnataka, a young couple got married at Kharagpur in West Bengal last night in full finery including masks, but no frills.
Swati Nath married Sourav Karmakar, who runs a fast food outlet now shut, in the presence of some 15 family members and friends. Swati's mother could not come as she lives in an adjoining district and there is no transport in the lockdown.
The bride's aunt gave her away.
Some guests fouled and did have to be reminded to wear a mask. Others took off their mask to blow the conch shell or ululate. The priest complied too, keeping on a mask while conducting the wedding.
What made the wedding really special was the couple's gesture of donating Rs 31,000, the money set aside for the occasion, to a local club that Sourav Karmakar supports. The money will be used to provide food for two days to 500 people that the local club has been feeding every day since the lockdown began last month.
"I would have in normal circumstances spent money at my wedding, I thought why not spend it to feed the poor. When I told my family about it, they all agreed most readily," said Sourav Karmakar.
"I am very happy that we did it help to feed some poor people at our wedding," his bride Swati chipped in.
The wedding was to be on March 13 earlier. But Sourav's mother fell ill and it had to be cancelled. Swati stayed on at her aunt's home nearby to help take care of her future mother-in-law. With her blessings, the couple got married on Thursday night.
It was a wedding to remember.