Is virtual the new reality? By Sujatha Rao
W
eddings in our small community hailing from Udupi are not very outlandish affairs in the normal course. But this inter-caste love marriage of my brother’s daughter was to be different. It was the wedding of the youngest member in both bride’s and groom’s families and as per the groom’s family custom, it was to be spread over 3-4 days, unlike the typical 1-2 days conservative ceremony norm of our families.
In fact, we eagerly looked forward to this “different” one as it had been a long time since we had a wedding in the family. This was way back in early January 2020. The excitement in the air was very much palpable as everyone got busy making plans. The cousins of the couple overseas commanded that they be informed about the wedding date at the earliest so that they could get hold of cheaper tickets. As the days rolled on, what to wear and where to shop were the
most hotly debated topics over our phone calls. But then COVID happened and out went all our plans. By late February, everyone realized that visits from the NRIs were totally ruled out. By August, it became very clear that the virus wasn’t going to go away anytime soon. That was when the families decided to ahead with the wedding and the date were set as 14th September 2020. The Ceremony was to take place in Bengaluru while some of us close
