KARACHI: Around 76 lucky Hindu couples began a new chapter in their lives as they tied the knot at the 19th Combined Marriages Ceremony organised by the Pakistan Hindu Council (PHC) in collaboration with the Dr Prem Kumar Sital Das Memorial Trust at the Railway Ground here on very chilly Sunday.

It was announced at the ceremony that there are actually 126 couples getting married this year though in Karachi there are some 76 of them as arrangements have been made for another 50 of them to be married in their cities and villages.

The wedding parties including the couples, their parents, relatives and guests arrived from all over the city as well as Sindh’s interior at the beautifully decorated venue.

The wedding rituals started late as the organisers had to wait for everyone to reach the venue. “What about the mahurat [auspicious moment]?” Someone asked the priest, Maharaj Jai Kumar Trivedi, who was there to wed everyone. “The mahurat will be whenever everyone gets here safe and sound,” the priest smiled.

Wedding parties arrive at beautifully decorated venue of Railway Ground from all over Sindh

Maharaj Trivedi had himself arrived at the venue very early, at 10am. “I had to be here early in order to supervise the setting up of each mandap in the 75 cabins,” he told Dawn while arranging things before him on the stage for the 76th couple. There was a traditional fire or agni, some rice placed in a special formation, coconut, some betel leaves, etc. The same had been replicated on small tables in every cabin, each of which bore the name of the bride and groom above its entrance.

Soon the model couple of Priya and Sagar, a primary school teacher and an electrician, respectively, from Saddar, Karachi, who were going to be wed on the stage before the audience by the priest, arrived, too. The others in the cabins quickly got ready to carefully watch the rituals on the big screens and follow each step.

There was a visible difference between the couples arriving from the interior of Sindh and the ones from Karachi. The local couples looked more confident and fresh in comparison to those who had travelled here. Many of them were carrying luggage including blankets and quilts, it being so cold. One such couple was from Umerkot. Another which arrived from Sukkur got some attention because of their names. The bride was named Benazir and the groom Badshah. Someone jokingly asked Badshah if he happened to be the country’s president to which he burst out laughing. When asked what he did for a living, he replied that he worked for the government, which made everyone burst into laughter.

PHC’s Patron-in-Chief, senior parliamentarian Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, mingled with as many couples as he could while they waited for everyone to get there. He was approached by a lady in one of the cabins who asked if he recognised her. “Baba, you gave me your blessings when I was getting married right here, at this very venue, in 2008,” the lady reminded him. “And today, I am back as a guest at my cousin’s wedding here,” she added.

“I have given away some 1,850 brides in these 19 years,” Dr Vankwani said. “I feel so blessed to be able to have done this,” he said while thanking all his supporters including the Pakistan Baitul Mal (PBM), various banks and other organisations and individuals who have helped him throughout these years.

Managing Director of PBM, Senator retired Captain Shaheen Khalid Butt, who was also present on the occasion, said that there is a misconception that the Baitul Mal only supports Muslims. “I want to make it clear today that beneficiaries of the Baitul Mal are not just Muslims as they may belong to any faith,” he said.

Published in Dawn, January 12th, 2026