'Knot' to be missed...

From the turn of the century, there has been a flurry of good dates. Be it aligned dates like 01/01/01, 02/02/02 till 12/12/12 or sequential ones like 01/02/03, 02/03/04 and so on, Indians are always looking for good dates to celebrate their special days. Probably the best date of this year and the last sequential date of the decade – 11/12/13 – is here today.

After all, it’s an unusual date which could easily be remembered. And there are a host of functions happening in the City on this date. In fact, though astrologists believe that there is no shubh muhurat on this date, many young couples are exchanging vows today. Some are holding engagements, sangeets and receptions too.

For Parinitha and Arjun, who are tying the knot in a traditional Iyer ceremony today, there was slight clash when it came to choosing a date since the muhurtam for the Iyers is December 12.

 “Arjun is an Iyengar and I am an Iyer so we follow different calendars. So there were certain navmi and dashmi problems. But we finally decided on this date,” says Parinitha. Ask her if they chose this date due to its uniqueness and she laughs, “Actually, it was only a long time after the date was settled that we realised that it’s 11/12/13.”

Anupriya Balikai and Sudeep Sundaram, who are self-employed, are holding a host of functions today which will lead up to their wedding tomorrow. “We have functions like sangeet, mehendi and varpooja’’, explains Anupriya. “The dates were decided as per the horoscopes over a year ago. We realised that the functions are on 11/12/13 only after a lot of people pointed out this date to us. Though we heard there are many weddings happening on this day and that it’s hard to get a venue, we faced no problems since we had sorted everything out a year ago.”

Giri Chittur and Roshni Venkatesan, who are tying the knot in yet another Iyer ceremony on December 12, are holding their reception today. The two corporate professionals are getting engaged today as well. “It’s easier to remember a date like this. That’s why we decided to go ahead with it,” explains Giri while Roshni laughs, “The day we met, he said we have to hold a function on 11/12/13!”

Wedding planners agree that many people have selected this quirky date. Rosemary Ratnam of Rings and Roses, a wedding planning company, says, “It’s a great date to remember. After all, the next year, one can’t hold a wedding on ‘12/13/14’!” While Sheetal Ganguly from Truue Value Productions, a wedding planning and event management company, feels, “Though there are many weddings happening today, in India, a person cannot just choose a date and get married. It’s the family that chooses a date. After all, a marriage binds two hearts for a lifetime and any decision should be made taking the family into consideration.”