Wednesday plays villain, ruins Valentine’s Day wedding plans

AHMEDABAD: It would be a dream-come-true for many young lovers to get hitched on Valentine’s Day whereas for the more traditional ones, Vasant Panchami is an auspicious day to get married. On Wednesday, however, the confluence of these two occasions is anticlimactic, since the third day of the week is not considered auspicious by many Hindu families. Priests who preside over wedding ceremonies said that there is no muhurat to tie the knot as Wednesday is considered inauspicious on several counts for holy unions. While couples who do not subscribe to astrology may go ahead and celebrate their happily ever-afters, many have chosen to wed on a later date this week.

It is widely believed that Wednesdays are not auspicious for a bride to leave her parents’ home. Some believe Wednesday represents duality and therefore any endeavour undertaken on this day will be taken up again. Some also believe that the brother-sister bond mandates that the siblings should not part on a Wednesday. Whatever the reasons may be, the purohits said that this year, the bookings are negligible compared to the usual fervour around Vasant Panchami.

Samir Shastri, president of Karnavati Vidvat Parishad, said that annually about 30,000 couples tie the knot in Gujarat and 8,000 in Ahmedabad city alone on Vasant Panchami. “People may find it difficult to get a priest or a venue on Vasant Panchami if they have not booked well in advance. But this year, since it falls on a Wednesday, it is considered inauspicious for events like weddings, especially after 10.34am. I believe priests may not have prescribed a shubh-muhurat for the day,” he said.

Kunal Shukla, a city-based priest, said that those who believe in muhurat will not prefer getting married on Wednesday. “However, on the other hand, we have also seen weddings take place during kamurta, especially among the NRIs. So, those who want to get married on Valentine’s Day, may simply go ahead with their plans. In my group though, nobody is presiding over weddings on Wednesday,” he said.

Dhiren Shastri, another priest, said there are seven-odd days in February that are considered auspicious for weddings including February 12, 13 and 16. “Some may have lined up pre- or post-wedding ceremonies on February 14, but the weddings are mostly taking place either on Tuesday or Thursday,” he said. Caterers and hotels have received a good number of bookings on Wednesday with sangeet and other pre-wedding events lined up to make the most of Valentine’s Day and Vasant Panchami vibes.


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