India's first 3D wedding: Watch Tamil Nadu couple's Metaverse marriage reception

Chennai, Feb 8: The pandemic induced apprehension, ingenuity and his flair for technological innovation, drove the 25-year-old Dinesh SP, project associate in IIT Madras, and his bride Janaganandhini Ramasamy, to host their wedding reception on Metaverse platform, earning the spontaneous appreciation of relatives, friends and gaining a world-wide audience.

The reception held at Sivalingapuram village of Anchetti taluk in Tamil Nadu's Krishnagiri district, shot the newly wedded couple to fame. Dinesh, who is into Blockchain, NFTs and Crypto, says his is the first Metaverse marriage in Asia.

"I got married in February 2022. I had planned to conduct my reception on Metaverse platform on February 6, due to the pandemic which had restricted the guests," he says. Hogwarts theme from Harry Potter was the choice the couple made for their reception.

A musical concert was held on Metaverse from Chennai and the event saw about 200 guests who attended the reception receive food at their homes.

"The unique Metaverse marriage reception was the first to be held in Asia and it was an instant hit among the people," claims Vinesh Selvaraj, CEO of TardiVerse, the Sriperumbudur based Information Technology firm, which designed the virtual platform for Dinesh and Janaganandhini.

"It took our 12-member team nearly a month from January 3 to complete the project," Vignesh told PTI. He says the Metaverse will be the 3.0 technology wielding tremendous influence on people. The unique event had fetched Vignesh 60 orders from various parts of India and abroad and currently he is readying to host the Valentine's Day celebrations this February 14 on Metaverse platform in Chennai.

"Lovers could exchange gifts on this platform," he adds.

A virtual world where people can interact, hold meetings, buy land, and do lot more, Metaverse, which has been around for a long time, has had huge success in science fiction movies.

The Matrix, the story of a computer programmer, and Sword Art Online, a popular anime series, flex this technology.

Back home, in November last year, popular actor Kamal Haasan unveiled his plans of a new virtual avatar to become the first actor to enter the game-based Metaverse. TardiVerse created the avatars of the guests, the bride and the groom besides that of bride's late father who passed away last April.

"We created a 3D avatar of his father-in-law as sought by Dinesh," says Vignesh who sees large scope for similar events in India and abroad. The reception was held also with the support of CoinSwitch Kuber, a crypto exchange.