Marriage plans hit by bandh, curfew in Jammu

JAMMU, MARCH 25: Preparations were in full swing. The bride was getting dressed up for the grand occasion. Then, all of a sudden the sheen...

JAMMU, MARCH 25: Preparations were in full swing. The bride was getting dressed up for the grand occasion. Then, all of a sudden the sheen was lost. The family came to know that Surmeet’s baarat was not coming as tension had gripped the city here following the massacre of 35 Sikhs in the Valley.

At their Gadi Garh residence, Surmeet’s parents were downcast. They had no option but to postpone the reception party. "A lot of food was wasted which really pinched us initially, but then I realised that the loss suffered by the family members of Chhithi Singhpora victims was much more colossal than mine," said Harbans Singh, the bride’s father, adding "we will marry off our daughter on a brighter day."

Surmeet’s case apart, bandh on three consecutive days and the curfew here have seen the postponement or rescheduling of many marriages and functions planned for the past few days.

The Eid party which was to be organised at Kashmir Bhawan in Residency Road was cancelled following curfew restrictions in the area. "The function had to be cancelled when guests, including the VIPs failed to turn up," said an organiser.

Due to the bandh call on Thursday, many Muslim and Sikh families who had spent large sums of money on marriage arrangements, have kept their fingers crossed. As Hindus don’t solemnise marriages for about 15 days after the Holi festival, they have not been affected on this account.

"With all kind of vehicles staying off the roads, people will prefer to stay indoors rather than go for these parties," said Imran, who was to host a reception party for his sister’s marriage on Friday.

"These things can be normal for a businessman but not for an employee like me. People like me have to plan for years to host such parties," he said.

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Mohammad Iqbal, whose son was to tie the nuptial knot on March 21, served a change-of-programme notice on his guests. "Marriage parties look good if there is a gathering. Under such a tense atmosphere, it’s not possible to have a good assembly, so I have postponed the programme to next month," he added.

Another worried father, Sadarul-Hassan Qazmi, said he is not sure whether all the guest will attend or not. He, however, said he would go ahead with the function as he was forced to do so. "I would have postponed the marriage but the in-laws of my daughter have reached here all the way from Calcutta. I cannot cancel the programme and ask them to go back. I know the attendance will be small, but what to do about it," he said.

Qazmi’s niece is also to get married, but his family members have yet to arrange the ingredients for the caterers so that they can prepare the food. His brother was worried after he came to know about the tear-gassing of a mob near the civil secretariat here (on Thursday).

"I don’t know what will happen. Whether we will be able to carry on with the function or not. It is up to Allah," he said.

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An employee with the Rama Tent House who organised three marriage parties said, very few guests were present on these occasions.