Superintendent of police of Bageshwar district in Uttarakhand administered a pledge in Sanskrit to guests at a wedding function to fight Covid-19 pandemic through adherence of disease containment guidelines.
SP Manikant Mishra arrived at the wedding to check if the Covid-19 guidelines issued by the administration for holding such functions were being followed before he administered a pledge to all guests, and the groom and the bride.
“We are fighting against the Covid-19 pandemic these days and can save ourselves by following the guidelines only. Since the wedding ceremony is an auspicious occasion and may convey the message deeply and effectively among the people, I chose the occasion to administer such a pledge to fight the pandemic in my area,” said Mishra.
Mishra said he had taken prior permission from the bride’s father who happily agreed and hailed the move.
“When I reached the venue, the priest was chanting mantras and performing rituals with the bride and the groom present in the mandap. I sat near them while one of my staffer distributed copies of the pledge, written in Sanskrit. I then administered the pledge and the rest repeated it after me,” said Mishra.
On the use of Sanskrit for administering the pledge, he said, “Being born in a Brahmin family, I am very much familiar with the language. Apart from this, a Hindu marriage is performed with chanting of shlokas and mantras in Sanskrit, hence, I decided to administer the pledge in the same language.”
Mishra said, “Wearing face masks, maintaining social distance, regular washing of hands, use of sanitizers and immediate consultation with doctors if Covid-19 like symptoms appears, were the points mentioned in the pledge.”
“I have advised priests in the area to administer such pledge during wedding and religious functions for fighting the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.
Jeevan Ram Tamta, father of the bride, said, “When the officials contacted me with the proposal of the pledge to be administered by the SP, how could have I rejected it? After all, he is a senior police officer and is making people aware about the pandemic, so I immediately accepted the proposal. It made my daughter’s wedding memorable as well.”
