Currency crisis forcing NRIs to call off weddings

JAIPUR: Ramdeep Bagga, a Dallas-based businessman, had planned to organise a gala wedding for his daughter at Udaipur on December 24.
Post demonetisation, he called up the Jaipur-based wedding manager to cancel the wedding function and was also willing to let go of the advance. Similarly, many NRIs have either cancelled or postponed the weddings scheduled to be held in Rajasthan.
The state and its forts have held appeal across the globe for wedding celebrations. But, demonetisation has hit the weddings scheduled to take place in the state. Initially, the wedding managers were getting requests to curtail three-day wedding functions to one-day affair. But, now they are grappling with postponements and cancellations.
"I was into negotiations with more than 12 clients who were based in United Kingdom, Canada and the United States of America. Majority of the weddings were set to take place in Udaipur, Jaipur and Jodhpur. Post November 9, we received calls and emails in which my clients, through their local agents, pleaded for postponement of weddings. Many weddings have been postponed for the month of February," said Mohit Sand, a Jaipur-based wedding manager.
He further said that a businessman from Shekhawati had planned his daughter's wedding in Goa, which too has been cancelled.
"It is a big setback as NRI weddings in Rajasthan are a big business. We are literally sitting idle as most of the NRI weddings have been cancelled or postponed," Mohit added. Such is the fear of income tax raids that wedding managers refrained from naming their clients. "They too have asked us not to publicise their affair," he added.
Meanwhile, Rajasthan is likely to be flooded with big fat NRI weddings in February 2017.
"Presently, there is a heavy cash crunch. Our clients pay a marginal sum in advance and make the remaining payment after the function. So, we have to pay for varying things like decoration, wedding band, celebrity arrival, etc. Thus, we too are requesting clients for postponement," said another Jaipur-based wedding manager.