Given the rain and flood crisis in Chennai and rescue and relief work, there was no way the chief minister could be seen attending a wedding or blessing a newly married couple.
A wedding in Chennai was cancelled on Sunday, not because of the flood crisis or any family complication. It was called off because one guest could not make it. Not surprising if that guest is Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.
Tamil Nadu Tourism Minister SP Shanmuganathan's daughter Tamizharasi was to get married to PS Nithin yesterday afternoon. Both bride and groom are doctors.
They were engaged one and a half years ago. When the party leader went to jail, celebrating a wedding was out of question. After much consultation, the wedding date was fixed for Sunday at the YMCA grounds in Royapettah, followed by a lunch reception at a hotel.
The invites mentioned that the Chief Minister would personally oversee and preside over the wedding. In fact, nine weddings were to happen at the same time, with the blessings of "Amma", as Jayalalithaa is known to her supporters.
Given the rain and flood crisis in Chennai and rescue and relief work, there was no way the chief minister could be seen attending a wedding or blessing a newly married couple.
All nine weddings were postponed indefinitely.
The Chief Minister's office has given a tentative date in January, but the families, especially, the brides and grooms, are keeping their fingers crossed.
"You know how these weddings are. The date is fixed based on what the Amma says. Not the amma of the bride or groom, but by the chief minister,'' a close family friend told NDTV.