Bengaluru: How do two souls come together in the times of social distancing? Former Karnataka chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy’s family will show the way when his actor-son Nikhil gets married Friday smack in the middle of the Covid-19 lockdown. Spoiler: Guests will have to wear masks.
According to sources in Kumaraswamy’s office, the wedding will be a low-key affair with effective measures in place to mitigate the risk of infection among its fewer-than-100 guests.
Adequate social distancing will be maintained at the venue — the Gowdas’ farmhouse at Ramanagara, approx. 50 km from Bengaluru — and every person at the venue will be screened, said an official from Kumaraswamy’s office.
“There will be a team of doctors who will check every person. Sanitisers, special decontamination booths and masks will be used at the location,” the official added, pegging the guest list at around 75.
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A low-key affair
Nikhil, the grandson of former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda, is getting married to Revathi, the grandniece of senior Karnataka Congress leader M. Krishnappa. The couple had got engaged on 10 February.
The engagement was a grand affair and the families had announced an even bigger celebration for the wedding.
However, Kumarswamy made a decision to host a modest wedding in light of the pandemic because the family didn’t want to postpone the date.
“There was no option to shift the dates as the auspicious date was fixed much before the Covid-19 outbreak. The marriage will be a very private event and attended by just family members on both sides,” Kumaraswamy’s media secretary K.C. Sadananda told ThePrint.
The Janata Dal (Secular) chief had subsequently sought official permission from the Karnataka government to conduct the wedding and agreed to comply with all norms of the Covid-19 lockdown.
In an order dated 22 March, Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa allowed closed-door weddings with up to 100 guests. Several weddings have been conducted since in the same manner as Nikhil’s.
“Former chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has said that his son’s wedding will be organised as a low-key affair and about 30 family members will grace this occasion. It is a personal affair… since they are responsible people, they will understand and not exceed the numbers and maintain social distancing protocol,” Karnataka Medical Education Minister Dr K. Sudhakar said Thursday afternoon.
“The wedding will conducted under strict supervision of medical officers and social distancing will be topmost on everybody’s mind,” Sadananda added.
The mahurat for the wedding has been fixed at 9.20 to 9.50 am, and it will be conducted in keeping with Hindu rituals.
Guests include leading politicians as well as famous cardiologist Dr C.N. Manjunath, director of the Bengaluru-based, government-run Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, who is married to Deve Gowda’s daughter Anasuya.
Kumaraswamy has urged party workers and leaders not to flock to the farmhouse, and instead bless the bride and the groom from their homes.
“This worldwide pandemic has hurt all of us. But this auspicious time was fixed earlier. We will hold a grand reception after finding a suitable date… once we tide over this Covid-19 crisis,” Kumaraswamy told the media from Ramanagara Thursday.
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Venue shifted twice
The venue of the wedding has been shifted twice since it was fixed. It was initially supposed to be held at a venue called Janapadaloka, located between Ramanagara and Channapatna on the outskirts of Bengaluru, on the way to Mysuru.
The Mandya-Mysuru-Hassan belt is known to be a JD(S) stronghold and the families expected lakhs of people to attend the ceremony.
The Covid-19 situation forced the families to shift the venue to the bride’s house in Bengaluru, but after PM Narendra Modi extended the lockdown and the city was declared a red zone, the venue was shifted to the Gowda farmhouse.
Nikhil, considered a popular actor in Kannada cinema, contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections along with his cousin Prajwal Revanna. He contested the polls from Mandya but lost to Sumalatha Ambareesh, the widow of actor Ambareesh. Prajwal, however, won from Hassan, the seat his grandfather Deve Gowda vacated for him.
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