At a time when opulence in weddings, meaning long guestlists and a lavish spread at the dinner table, is commonplace, eight mosques from Vemulawada have taken the lead to discourage this trend. For, at a recent meeting, the heads of these committees, along with community members, put their heads together and resolved to make weddings simpler by drastically reducing the number of dishes at the dinner table.
Speaking to The Hindu, Mohammed Akram, who is the president of the Vemulawada Muslim Town Committee, a body that collaborated with the managing committees of these mosques, took the decision recently. The move, he said, is intended to significantly reduce the burden of expenses on the bride’s family.
“Managing committees of eight mosques, including a recently constructed one, are on board. Some of these are Mohammadia Masjid in Subhash Nagar, Jama Masjid in Uppugadda, Masjid-e-Arfa near the bus stand in Tippapur, Moin Masjid in Bhavani Nagar, Madina Masjid in Urban Colony, and the Jamia Masjid in Shatrajpally,” Mr Akram said.
Explaining the rationale behind the move he said, “Invariably, the expenses of the wedding day are high and are borne by the bride and her family. Here in Vemulawada, the tariff for a decent shaadikhaana (marriage hall), on average, is ₹ 40,000.
The cost of decoration runs into tens of thousands, and the cost of food is a crucial expenditure which also is very high, runs into lakhs. The expenses can go up depending on the spending capacity. A lot of people are in debt because of these lavish weddings. So we got together and decided to settle on bagara khaana (rice), mutton or chicken dish and sweet. This way the burden on the bride’s family will reduce tremendously.”
Mr Akram said that the deliberations began earlier this month. And in two or three meetings spread over a fortnight, the managing committees of eight mosques were on board.
“So far, we have taken signatures of over 100 people, of musallis (those who visit the the masjid to pray), in this regard. Even if 60% of them put this into practice, it will be an important achievement,” he said.
