A quick guide to auspicious Hindu wedding dates in 2017 and avoiding Delhi's monster traffic jams

Delhi, and its twin suburbs of Noida and Gurgaon, that constitute the National Capital Region (NCR), are often prone to be in news for the wrong reasons. From severe smog and pollution to fatal diseases caused by chikungunya and dengue-carrying mosquitoes that defy Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Swacch Bharat campaign, these are just two of the problems residents of Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida have to face.

In addition, there are monster traffic jams that the region faces whenever something major happens: in July 2016, severe rains left commuters stranded in Gurgaon for hours; and in March, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was caught unawares on the road in a morning jam, though there was no downpour. Even the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, found himself at a standstill in August in the rains.

But nothing compares with the traffic jams Delhiites face when it comes to the wedding season. Despite the recent cash crunch, and the so-called slimming down of the big fat North Indian weddings, the start of the wedding season has proved that invitees are hitting the road as aggressively as before – perhaps because a free buffet saves them some precious cash anyway. Google Maps has been advertising on billboards asking people to check the traffic situation on the roads and Uber will probably start sending well-timed discount coupons soon.

And while it makes perfect sense to leave the SUV at home and take a cab, Delhiites feel it's beneath their dignity if they arrive at a wedding in their sherwanis and silks without a key to hand over to a valet.

Be that as it may, anyone who's on the road during these auspicious wedding dates, is likely to be a victim of collateral damage: even if you haven't been invited to a single wedding and are merely trying to get home to the loving spouse after a bad day with the cranky boss, you're going to be stuck too. So treat this as fair warning and save these dates for December 2016 and all of 2017: enter them into your calendar app and it could save you fuel, time and heartburn.

Auspicious Hindu wedding dates (Shubh Lagan Muhurat)

If you study the calendar above, you will realise that May and June are the most action-packed months but there is a four-month period where there are no auspicious marriage dates. Devout Hindus believe this period, called Chaturmas, is when Lord Vishnu sleeps and it is considered unwise to disturb him.
 In 2017, Chaturmas starts on July 4 (Devshayani Ekadashi) and ends on October 31. Also, December 2017 has just two auspicious dates to get married on – though some astrologers have ordained that the full month is inauspicious.

Now that you know, we hope you can plan wisely: either to plan your own marriage and book a banquet hall plus wedding planner or simply to ensure you don't get stuck in one of Delhi or Gurgaon's monster traffic jams.