Visakhapatnam: At a time when weddings have turned into events for ostentatious spending, it may be a surprise for many to hear that an IAS officer is going to spend just Rs 18,000 on his son’s marriage in Visakhapatnam on February 10. This is not the first time for the Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority (VMRDA) metropolitan commissioner P Basanth Kumar to break the stereotype. He conducted his daughter’s wedding in Radha Soami Satsang Sabha, Dayalbagh with just Rs 16,100 in September 2017. In fact, Basanth Kumar himself set an example way back in 1988 when his marriage expenditure was only Rs 2,345.Speaking to TOI, Basanth Kumar said that his son’s wedding would be a collaborative effort of his colleagues, members of Radha Soami Satsang Sabha and others, which otherwise would not have been possible with just Rs 18,000. “Being a follower of Radha Soami Satsang, I cannot spend more than Rs 18,000 on my son’s marriage. The expenditure limit is stipulated based on the income group of a person. Now, the ceiling on the expenditure is Rs 18,000 each for my family and the girl’s family,” said Kumar.When asked how he could pull off the wedding ceremony with just Rs 18,000, Kumar said that the flowers and vegetables for the marriage will be supplied by the farms located in Dayalbagh Nagar in Visakhapatnam (where the Radha Soami Satsang community lives) and they will be paid accordingly. The sagaayi (engagement) will be much simpler and Rs 5 is fixed for the sweet offered to the guests. “The meals at the reception or the wedding will be in the range of Rs 15-Rs 20. We have been getting the needed cutlery, casseroles and others from the temples, etc. An invitation card cannot cost more than Rs 5,” said Basanth Kumar.“Even the priest who performs the wedding rituals cannot be paid more than Rs 1,000. We should not serve the meals for no more than 100 guests (65 from the girl’s side and 35 from the boy’s side) at the wedding.

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