In an interesting turn of events, over two thousand couples in Baran, Rajasthan tied the knot during a mass wedding ceremony held on May 26 and set the world record for the most couples married in 12 hours, as per Guinness World Record (GWR). They also smashed the record for the most marriages in 24 hours, which was achieved in 2013 by 963 Yemeni couples. As per the GWR website, both Hindu and Muslim weddings were performed during the mega event.
Shri Mahaveer Goshala Kalyan Sansthan, a registered trust dedicated to "serving the marginalised sections of society" organised the same. Their objective was to facilitate the marriage of the underprivileged.
On May 26, 2,413 couples started to assemble at the location and each of them got married in less than six hours. First, the brides and the grooms exchanged garlands and then proceeded to the mandap area. "Each couple had their marriage officiated by a qualified priest or official from their respective communities; the Hindu priests came from Gayatri Parivaar, whilst the Muslim Quazis were invited from nearby areas," the website added.
After the rituals were completed, each couple received a marriage certificate from the government representatives in attendance. The Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot along with Cabinet Minister Pramod Jain Bhaya bestowed their blessings on each couple.
"Each couple was also given an assortment of gifts, including jewellery for the bride; a mattress with bedding; kitchen utensils; and household appliances such as a television, a refrigerator, a cooler, and an induction cooker. Food was also served to all the newly-wed couples, in addition to the thousands of guests who were in attendance," GWR mentioned on their website.
