The new norms restrict the number of guests between 30 and 50
As the season of big fat wedding season sets in Kashmir, the pandemic and the new norms have cut its size and dulled down the traditional flavor.
The new norms, which have been set in place, restrict the number of guests between 30 and 50— depending on the threat perception based zones.
Deputy Commissioner of Srinagar, Shahid Chaudhary, said that the wedding ceremonies would require prior permission and social-distancing would be mandatory.
“Thirty to fifty guests would be allowed depending on the zone”, the official said.
The spread of COVID-19 viral infection—which has caused a global lockdown—has drastically impacted life and businesses in Kashmir region where more than 2,000 people have been infected so far.
The lockdown, which was imposed in mid-March in Kashmir, is now considered, eased as new norms have been put in place, which will allow a restricted resumption of business and commercial activity.
The norms, however, will dramatically change the idea of wedding ceremonies in Kashmir, where such occasions are rare coming together of extended families and friends for several days of feasting.
The wedding ceremonies are also the main pivot in the economic structure of the region as they allow large scale spending among different sectors which include chefs and decorates.
Obaid Ahmad, who was scheduled to get married this season, as his family was preparing for a lavish feast for several hundred guests, said it would be impossible to shortlist thirty or fifty guests.
“It is not even possible to decide whom to invite and whom not to invite. It is better not to invite anyone or wait for next year,” he said.
Another family said it is planning to cook wazwan, the traditional Kashmiri feast of multiple mutton cuisines, and parcel it to the guest instead of inviting them to the ceremony.
The wedding season in Kashmir is scheduled during summer and autumn seasons and involves several months of hectic preparations.
