Hindustan Times (Lucknow)

Indore men tie the knot to please rain god

- Punya Priya Mitra letters@hindustant­imes.com

Same-sex relationsh­ips are illegal in India but that didn’t stop two men in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore from getting married in a traditiona­l Hindu ceremony this week in an effort to please the rain god Indra.

The two men, Sakaram Ahirwar and Rakesh Adjan, both have wives and children but went through with the ceremony on Thursday because local customs say the rain god’s attention can be drawn by out-of-the-ordinary occurrence­s. Indore has received 20% less rainfall this year.

The men were dressed in traditiona­l wedding attire and the ceremony was preceded by scores of “baraatis” dancing to film songs and marching through the Musakheri neighbourh­ood.

A Hindu priest officiated the rituals in front of a traditiona­l holy fire, in front of a large crowd that included the wives and children.

The organiser of the marriage, Ramesh Singh Tomar, said the two grooms worked under him and that he hit upon the idea of getting two men to marry each other.

“All this was done to draw attention of Lord Indra so that he showers his blessings in the form of rain in this area,” Tomar said.

Whether Lord Indra was pleased or not only time will tell, but it did rain briefly while the marriage was going on which everyone took as a positive sign. After the marriage, there was a feast and the two grooms – they went back to their respective homes to their family.

BOTH MEN HAVE KIDS BUT TIED THE KNOT AS LOCALS SAY RAIN GOD’S ATTENTION CAN BE DRAWN BY ONLY OUTOFTHEOR­DINARY OCCURRENCE

 ?? SHANKAR MOURYA/HT ?? Sakaram Ahirwar and Rakesh Adjan during their wedding in Indore, which has received less rain this year.
SHANKAR MOURYA/HT Sakaram Ahirwar and Rakesh Adjan during their wedding in Indore, which has received less rain this year.

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