At the heart of Chandni Chowk lies Delhi’s showy heart: Dariba Kalan, the market where most of the city buys its (real and costume) wedding jewellery. Ever bustling with life, the Mughal-era bazaar wore a deserted look this week. Shops pulled down their shutters, the excitement of to-be brides shopping with their mothers, was conspicuous by its absence.
Raj Kumar, a rickshaw puller who has worked in the neighbourhood for the past 30 years, said he had never seen the market look so empty.
“Ever since Modiji has stopped the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, it has become a holiday every day.”
Other rickshaw pullers like Kumar, who pay daily rent for the vehicles, are feeling the consequences of a poorly-attended wedding season in the market.
“I usually made Rs 500-600 on a busy day, out of which I paid Rs 300 as rickshaw rent,” Kumar said. “I am hardly able to scrape together Rs 200 and have no idea how long I can keep the rickshaw.”
The great Indian wedding has traditionally relied on cash to pay its massive labour force. The men who build tents, string lights and flowers, cook food, play music in wedding bands and serve the guests, rely on the months of November and December – which are considered auspicious for big Hindu weddings – for an inflow of notes, distributed by middle-men or event-planners who hire them through the wedding season.
Since several old-school, traditional shopkeepers, like the wedding jewellers of Chandni Chowk, do not accept cards, the jewellery hub of Delhi has been closed since November 9 – the day after the surprise demonetisation announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Surendra Nagpal, the Chairman of the Dariba Sarafa Association, was sitting outside one of the shops that had drawn its shutters.
“The currency has failed, and because of that the everyday buyer’s purchasing power has gone down,” he said. “This demonetisation has left us feeling anxious about our futures.”
On Thursday, gold and jewellery establishments remained closed for the seventh day, after the Income Tax Department reportedly carried out raids – based on reports of people rushing to buy gold.
Much to the relief of those with pending nuptials, on Thursday, Secratary of Economic Affairs Shaktikanta Das said sums up to Rs 2.5 lakh could be withdrawn from the bank accounts of brides, bridegrooms or their parents, for a wedding.
On their part, wedding shoppers have also come up with innovative ways to circumvent tradition in the face of demonetisation. Geetika Rustagi, whose sister is getting married in the coming week, said she was thinking about getting demand drafts made to put in envelopes as “blessings” for the groom’s family.
Rustagi’s family have also had to cut down on a slew of pre-wedding functions such as a kirtan (prayer service) and bhaat (maternal uncle’s blessing).
“It is going to be a very small affair,” she said. “We thought of cutting down on our guest list to save money, but that didn’t work out as we had already sent out all our invitations.”
Subuhi Parvez, whose sister Ruhee’s wedding reception is on November 28, said her family was putting in twice the work to arrange wedding functions.
“We had already made the sagan (blessing) envelopes using the old notes, but now we are thinking of giving away cheques instead,” Parvez said. Her family was still trying to figure out ways in which to pay for smaller things like flower arrangements and mehendi.
Mipreet Kaur, 23, daughter of a real estate developer, recently graduated from the University of Delhi, and is getting married in January.
“Dad says everything will be fine soon,” she said. “He says only those who are corrupt need worry, right? He also said we have lots of correct notes.”
Not all weddings have had to downsize their celebrations in the wake of the large currency notes being demonetised, in peak wedding season. Mining baron Galli Janardhan Reddy reportedly spent Rs 550 crore on his daughter’s wedding.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Eknath Shinde, whose son got married on November 17, sent wedding invites weigh half a kilo each.
Brahm Prakash, who sat at the payment counter of Chhabra Trading Company’s shop in Chandni Chowk, said he was a staunch supporter of Modi’s actions to curb black money.
“I know it’s a good move,” he said. “I just don’t know how it is good yet.”
Sanju Prakash, his brother, was worried because one of the shop helpers did not turn up to work. “He’s told us he’s sick but we are sure he’s standing in a queue somewhere,” he said. “What can I say to him? He’s not wrong. Nor is Modiji.”
But not everyone felt despair at the sudden lack of cash.
At Ashok Chat Corner, near Chawri Bazaar Metro station, a man offered to pay for an elderly lady, who did not have enough change on her. The lady smiled and said: “Times like these are when humanity has a chance to thrive.”
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