GUWAHATI: In marriages, families find a meeting point but not as literally as in this case.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a young man from West Bengal was not allowed to enter Assam to get married. This made the bride’s family to take her to the inter-state border and get the marriage solemnized in an open area adjacent to the police check post.
About six months ago, the marriage of Om Prakash Sha of West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri and Kajol Sha of Assam’s Dhubri was fixed. As the D-Day drew near and there is this COVID-19 lockdown, both families had approached the administration for permission.
However, when the groom and his handful of friends and relatives arrived at Sagolia check gate on the border, the Dhubri district police did not allow them to travel further in view of COVID-19. As per the contagion protocols in Assam, every person entering the state is sent to 14-day institutional quarantine.
Even as the marriage party was stranded, discussions were on between Dhubri and Jalpaiguri administrations. Eventually, it was decided the wedding would be solemnized on the border but by maintaining social distancing. Soon, the bride and his relatives arrived along with the priest. It was followed by the chanting of Vedic hymns as per the ritual.
Mahesh Sha, the bride’s father, said his family had listened to the advice of the administration as well as the priest.
“When we all were waiting to receive the marriage party, we were told the marriage could take place only on the border. It had upset us temporally but we thought God wanted it that way. The priest too advised us to go ahead saying that it was an auspicious day,” Sha said.
Ashwini Ray Sarkar, who is the MLA of Golakganj in Dhubri district, was in attendance. He said he was there to bless the couple and ensure that everything goes off well.
Meanwhile, when the marriage party returned to Jalpaiguri, the local administration sent every one of them, including the newlywed couple, to 14 days’ quarantine.