*** ----> India all set to witness its first wedding reception in Metaverse | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

India all set to witness its first wedding reception in Metaverse

Agencies | Chennai

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

A couple from the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu will host their Hogwarts-themed wedding reception in Metaverse in February.

Dinesh S P and Janaganandhini Ramaswamy will have a wedding in their village, Sivalingapuram, but will host a digital reception at a virtual venue where they will be joined by friends and family from across the world.

Talking to indianexpress.com, Dinesh said that he came up with the idea. “We are the first couple in the nation getting married in Metaverse. I have been working on blockchain for the past year, so I know more about it and Crypto. Metaverse is a technology working in blockchain,” he said.

“One fine day, I came across a video on Metaverse on YouTube. I thought why can’t we do an event in Metaverse? I know the future is big in Metaverse. Now, companies like Microsoft, Facebook and a lot more are investing in Metaverse. So I thought by conducting an event, everyone in India will know about the technology. We can work on a start-up and develop it,” Dinesh, project associate at IIT Madras, added.

The bride’s father passed away last April but Dinesh plans to have his digital avatar at the reception. “My girlfriend’s father passed away last April. I want to surprise her. I have been planning to bring him in virtually and make him a part of the event. He will be there as a 3D avatar, bless us in the Metaverse. That’s the gift I can give her,” Dinesh added.

Janaganandhini, who is a Potterhead, is excited about the Hogwarts theme for the special day. “When he explained about Metaverse event, I did not understand it in the first stretch. It was new to me. I went all wow,” the TCS employee told indianexpress.com.

“I was doubtful if it will be possible. I asked him why can’t we conduct it here in the village. I questioned him if it will be conducted in a traditional way, how people will join, their clothing etc. So far, I have not understood the concept in its entirety. I hope it will be successful,” said Janaganandhini.

Chennai based start-up, TardiVerse, led by Vignesh Selvaraj, is spearheading the metaverse project. It has been developed based on Polygon Technology Blockchain.

“People will be logging in through the website. They can choose an avatar. Avatars of the couple, their family members and friends have been already designed. There will be video streaming of the couple, the guests can talk to one another. The Harry Potter theme was selected based on the couple’s suggestion. If anybody wants to create an event in Indian version, we are up for it,” said Vignesh Selvaraj, CEO of Tradiverse.

“For those who are not well versed technologically, a demonstration will be held on January 25. It is easy to use. One may login through desktop, laptop or tablet. After the Metaverse wedding reception went viral, we have been getting lot of proposals. We are planning to conduct an event on upcoming Valentine’s day,” Selvaraj added.

Metaverse is a digital space represented by digital representations of people, places, and things. In other words, it’s a “digital world” with real people represented by digital objects.

Florida couple Traci and Dave Gagnon was the first couple in the world to hold a virtual wedding ceremony in September last year, according to Insider. “For their wedding in the Metaverse, Dave and Traci Gagnon had avatars created that were based on personal photos and the clothes they wore to their in-person ceremony. Traci and Dave Gagnon met in the cloud, so it only made sense that their wedding took place in it. On Labor Day weekend, the couple — or rather, their digital avatars — held a ceremony staged by Virbela, a company that builds virtual environments for work, learning and events. #startup,” Dinesh further said in his post.