Kerala: Bride Dons PPE Suit To Marry Covid Positive Groom In Hospital

Weddings in India are grand affairs, with every aspect right from food to clothing put under excessive scrutiny. Weddings are planned months in advance, making sure there is no room for error. However, ever since the pandemic broke out last year, weddings, just like every other social ceremony have changed.

While many couples have preferred small marriage ceremonies with just close family and friends, a couple in Kerala took it a step further, and tied the knot wearing PPE suits as the groom was infected with coronavirus.

The reason for such urgency? The families did not want to skip the auspicious 'muhurtham.'

The ‘wedding’ occurred at a hospital ward during a small ceremony at a time when covid cases are spiralling in the southern state.

With the Personal Protection Kit (PPE) replacing the traditional silk saree, 23 year-old Abhirami married her virus-positive groom, admitted to a government hospital in coastal Alappuzha district.

Marking the ritual, the groom, Sarathmon S, tied 'thali', the mangal sutra, and garlanded the bride in the presence of his mother, also covid positive and another close relative of the bride at a special room in the ward.

Fixed a year ago, the wedding happened on Sunday, after permission from authorities.

Sarathmon, working in the Gulf, and his mother Jijimol had been admitted to the hospital recently after they tested positive for the virus.

Though he had placed himself in quarantine after arriving here from the Middle East for the wedding and showed no symptoms for the initial 10 days, the two developed breathing difficulty on Wednesday evening.

They tested positive for the virus at a private hospital at Thathampally and were later shifted to the COVID ward of the medical college, family sources said.

As both the families wanted to carry out the wedding ritual on the pre-fixed 'muhurtham' (auspicious time of a day), they approached the authorities with the request to get married at the hospital itself.

Both the district collector and hospital authorities granted permission for the function adhering to strict COVID protocols.

In compliance with the health department guidelines, the bride was asked to wear the PPE kit and directed that only one or two relatives should attend the wedding.

(With PTI inputs)