GURUVAYUR: It was a day of celebration at Guruvayur as 420 couples tied the knot at the temple on the final Sunday of the Malayalam month of Chingam, setting a new record for the number of weddings held in a single day. As many as 443 weddings had been booked for the day. The 420 weddings conducted on Sunday surpassed the previous record of 416, set on August 23.
The wedding ceremonies began at 4 a.m., with the Devaswom making special arrangements to ensure that the celebrations went ahead smoothly while also facilitating darshan for devotees. Six mandapams were arranged for the ceremonies.
Additional police personnel were deployed, while fire and ambulance services were also kept ready. Entry was restricted to 25 people accompanying each wedding party.
The large number of weddings passed off without complaints, with Devaswom chairman A.V. Gopinath saying that careful planning and effective arrangements helped ensure the smooth conduct of the ceremonies.