Tamil Nadu

Citizen’s voices

A BPO employee who got married last month, S. Padma takes care of her old parents and a college-going sister.

She went in for a loan of Rs. 3 lakh (as a top-up to her housing loan) to meet the marriage expenses, and had to swipe her credit card to buy wedding clothes, jewellery and vessels and gifts for relatives. “I could have avoided the gifts but was bound by family tradition,” adds Padma.

“Thankfully,my husband was willing to share some of marriage expenses. Else, I would have had to borrow more,” she says.

Though Padma is happily married, the expenditure she incurred has rendered her bankrupt. “Autorickshaws charge more. I pay more EMI towards the housing loan as interest rates have gone up. The health care expenses of my parents have increased too,” she points out.

The owner of Sri Krishnaswamy Kalyana Mandapam in T.Nagar, Meenakshi Sundaram says that it takes Rs. 1.25 lakh to conduct a marriage at their hall. This covers hall rent, room rent and decoration expenses. “The cost has remained the same for the past year,” he says, adding that only food contracts have become more expensive.

The director of Thiru and Thirumathi Matrimony Ltd, D. Senthilnathan, says it is possible to fit marriage expenses into a small budget if the family wants to. Some people’s main ambition is to organise a grand wedding for their son or daughter. They earn and save to conduct a big wedding.

People approach a marriage bureau or contractor these days because relatives are too busy to help with the arrangements. Contractors first help fix the budget.

A small mandapam may cost Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 40,000 a day in the city. A bigger one with car parking space may cost Rs. 1 lakh a day. However, in the suburbs, you can book halls for Rs. 6,000 to Rs. 10,000 a day.

(Contributed by Vidya Venkat and Kannal Achuthan)

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