Kerala's Guruvayur sets record with 334 weddings in a single day, breaking 2017 milestone

GURUVAYUR: It was just past 3.30am on Sunday, the first pink flush of dawn still an hour away. Devotees who had just witnessed Nirmalayam were surprised to hear the Nadaswaram.
Even as the deity inside the sanctorum was being decked up for a long day of darshan, just outside the sanctum an unprecedented number of couples was getting ready for a long life of married bliss.
On Sunday, the famous temple town practically became a mass wedding destination as it saw a record number of 334 brides and grooms tie the knot.
According to Guruvayur Devaswom authorities, this surpassed the earlier record of 277 weddings on August 26, 2017.
Thanks to effective arrangements made by the Devaswom authorities, security staff, police and other agencies, the mammoth event went without a hitch.
"We were fully happy with the arrangements. Though we had apprehended the possibilities of several mess-ups in the backdrop of the numerous marriages scheduled on this day, our daughter's wedding was held without any major hitches. There were some disturbances due to the drizzle in the morning, and crowding at the entry point. But overall, the event was held smoothly," said Sunitha from Seethathode in Pathanamthitta.
Asha, her daughter, got married to Sivaprasad from Chelakkara in Thrissur at Guruvayur on Sunday.
The mass wedding ceremonies began at 3.45am. “We had planned to start the ceremonies from 4am on Sunday, instead of 5am, as is usually done.
But the temple priests also cooperated by completing the rituals earlier in the sanctum sanctorum earlier, so we could start the ceremonies at 3.45am,” said Pramod, the temple deputy administrator.
Six mandapams were kept ready for conducting the weddings, though three or four mandapams are usually used for the ceremonies.
Six temple ‘Koymas’ (the temple staff who oversee the ritualistic parts of the weddings) were deployed for conducting the weddings on Sunday, while two Mangal Vadhyam troupes were also deployed near the mandapams. Only 24 members, including the photographers, were permitted from each wedding party, on to the mandapams.
Noted astrologer Kanippayyur Narayanan Nam boothirippad said this Sunday was an auspicious day for weddings. It was a Chothi (Swati) star day in Chingam month as per Malayalam calendar. Being the last Sunday of Chingam month before Onam, people would have also found it a convenient day for conducting weddings.
In fact, coming Tuesday and Saturday are also auspicious days for weddings but people generally share a notion to avoid conducting weddings on those days, he explained.
Pernidri Chennas Krishnan Namboothirippad, an expert in temple rituals, said there are no specific myths associated with the popular wish of the devotees to hold the marriages at Guruvayur.
“It could be due to the general wish of the devotees to hold weddings in a sacred place,” Namboothirippad, who is widely known as PCK, said.
Devaswom Chairman V K Vijayan attributed the success in conducting so many marriages on a single day to the team work of var ious stakeholders.
“We had done thorough homework for the smooth conduct of these record numbers of weddings on a single day,” he said.
The Devaswom regulated the entry of devotees to the temple. Additional parking facilities were provided at the nearby Sree Krishna School ground, the Devaswom officials said.
Guruvayur ACP T S Sinoj said over 100 additional police force were on duty in the temple town to avert any breach of law in Guruvayur on Sunday. NCC, Scouts and NSS cadets from the nearby educational institutions were deployed to regulate traffic on the day.
“We estimate that at least 25,000 people associated with the different wedding parties might have been looking for accommodation on Saturday night and the day hours of Sunday. Many of them must have stayed at the nearby towns like Thrissur, Kunnamkulam, and Chettuva,” Guruvayur Lodge Owners’ Association secretary Mohanakrishnan said.