The ceremony was completed in two hours and immediately thereafter, the groom left for home along with his bride on a motorcycle.

Amidst continued lockdown, a groom abandoned his plan for a lavish wedding and brought home his bride on motorcycle after tying the knot at a local temple in Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur town.

Kanav Gupta, 31, of Udhampur’s Ward No. 13 was waiting for his wedding with Simmi of Adarsh Colony ever since their engagement last year. Both their families had even booked Udhampur’s biggest banquet hall, and the band, for it, and even ordered printing of invitation cards.

“With Kanav being the youngest among three children, it was the last marriage function in our family and we had planned it in a lavish way,’’ said his elder brother Koshal Gupta. “We had booked the biggest multi-storey banquet hall of Udhampur town for 1,500 guests,’’ he added.

However, as the wedding day came nearer, the government announced lockdown due to the threat of the novel coronavirus, he said.

“As the other auspicious day for marriage ceremony was available only next year, we approached the office of Udhampur Deputy Commissioner and from there, we were sent to the local Tehsildar. The latter permitted us subject to the condition that there will be only five people from each side during the marriage ceremony,’’ he said.

In view of the situation, both sides agreed to organize the marriage ceremony at local Ved Mandir. The groom left home on motorcycle, while other four members of his family too went there on their vehicles separately. The bride came there along with her parents and two sibblings, he said, adding that all the people wore masks and maintained physical distancing during the marriage ceremony.

The ceremony was completed in two hours and immediately thereafter, the groom left for home along with his bride on a motorcycle.