Couples Who Weathered ‘Fani’ To Tie The Knot

Bhubaneswar: It sure was a stormy wedding season! With thunder, lightning, storm and upheavals, there were literally cracks in the weddings even before they could take place!

Jokes apart, those who had fixed their weddings before and soon after Cyclone Fani were in a dilemma whether to say ‘I Do’ once the Met Department had confirmed that the storm was bound to hit the Odisha coast.

The brave hearts who did take the plunge and entered holy matrimony despite the challenges will remember the day forever because getting hold of the caterers, the tent wallahs, the hotel owners, the florists was no easy task, the guestlist had dwindled and above all, there was no ready cash.

Sagarika Biswal, who got married on May 8, had to overcome a number of hassles, including theft of water bottles and shortage of money.

“Since food was not readily available at that time, we had to contend with a lot of gate crashers. Many among them also took away water crates from the catering area. In the end, many of our guests did not get food or water. As there was total chaos, we could not keep proper control,” said Sagarika, a forest range officer.

Her father, Ratnakar Biswal, recalled how he managed funds.

“I could not withdraw cash from the bank and there was not much enough cash in the house. I had no option but to borrow money from friends who were very forthcoming. I have only one daughter and a lot of sentiments were attached to the wedding so I had to make it happen under any circumstances,” said the father.

Aswini Dash, who works in a private office here, got married on May 12. She hails from Koraput but her wedding was scheduled to be held in Bhubaneswar as it would have been easier for the guests to reach.

Unfortunately, most of her guests could not attend the wedding and she had a hard time accommodating the others in a local hotel.

“The hotel did not have water or electricity and we had to bring water from the local hand pump. As it is, a wedding requires so much planning and this situation added to the woes,” she said.

Archana Pati, decided to reschedule her marriage. It is now scheduled for the first week of June.

Every item she owns is engraved with her original wedding date, serving as a painful reminder that events don’t always go according to plan. However, she’s focusing on the light at the end of the tunnel.

“We geared up through the next few weeks and then all of our family and friends were together on the new date to dance, celebrate and enjoy,” she said.

Event planner Ranjan Kumar who runs Retro Hap in the city says since it was a tough situation, people were looking up to the vendors to make things right.

“The bottom line is that it is important for vendors to rise to the occasion during such situations and help people. We had a tough time making last-minute arrangements. We understood the importance of a wedding insurance, which people in India are hardly aware of,” said Ranjan.