Daijiworld News Network –Mangalore (VM)

Beltangady, May 3:  A total of 146 couples will enter wedlock at Dharmastala during the 35 th annual mass marriage programme on Wednesday, May 3. The programme initiated in 1972 has facilitated the marriage of more than 10,000 couples.

In the first year of the programme 88 couples entered wedlock. This number rose to 291 in 1973 and shot to 482 in 1977. In 2004, 102 and in 2005 a total of 133 couples got married which sums up to a total of 10,038 couples.

At the auspicious Muhortam of Gadhooli Lagnam set at 6.25 pm, 146 couples will get married. Dharmastala has been bedecked with green festoons for the event. Feast awaits the relatives of the couples who attend the marriage. The wedding will be held without differentiating between castes or creeds. At the Jnana auditorium, the groom will get dhoti and shawl while the bride will be provided with saree, blouse piece, ‘mangal sutra’ and bangles.