The Covid epidemic has caused a great deal of misery to mankind and has led to positive approaches. The most important of these is that society as a whole is forced to abandon luxuries altogether. Strict restrictions on everything from celebrations related to marriage, funerals and social gatherings are in place. The lavish wedding has become a private affair attended by only ten or twenty people. For the past one and a half years, most of the weddings across the state have been like this. The only exceptions were when the lockdown restrictions were relaxed from time to time. The perception that marriage extravaganza is unnecessary is slowly but surely gaining ground in society. This can be seen as a positive change. Although weddings are avoided, important rituals, including dowry, remain the same. Some of the tragic events of recent days have also caused society to think aloud against the menace of dowry.

A village in Kozhikode is in the news for a few simple weddings that took place without any luxury or money in a country where dowry torture and suicides are on the rise. Cherukulathoor is a village in Peruvayal panchayath. After a gap of fifteen years, four marriages of close relatives in this village have taken place at the register office with hundred per cent simplicity. There were no applause or celebrations involving relatives. The marriage ceremony was completed by signing the marriage register before the Sub-Registrar. The bride and groom were not runaway couple. That's what the family planned. The couple decided not to have wedding hall for marriage and other wedding-related celebrations. The first marriage of this kind took place fifteen years ago. The most recent was last year. The bride and groom are educated, qualified and employed. It is the parents themselves who have led them to the idea of ​​an modest marriage. They had taken the same path before.

Although registered marriages are not uncommon, marriages in this Kozhikode village are most notable considering the present circumstances. The relief that comes to most families is not insignificant. There are many people who marry off their daughters and fall into debt trap. Social reformers have long called for the eradication of dowry. Community leaders and teachers remind us of this from time to time. It's just that no one was listening. The strict restrictions imposed by the Covid epidemic have resulted in extremely simple weddings. This is a model that Covid can be emulated even if the pandemic leaves the earth.