Amid grief, a wedding brings cheer in camp

thiruvananthapuram — Amid horrors of the torrential rains, the wedding of a woman inmate on Sunday brought cheers to a relief camp in northern Malappuram district, where thousands of people have been displaced in flood.

Twenty-four-year-old Anju, the bride, has been staying with her family members at a relief camp in a lower primary school there for the last three days after her house was submerged in flood.

“Three fourths of our house is submerged in water. Initially we decided to postpone the marriage. But when we got the support of the people here, we decided to go ahead as planned,” a relative of the bride told the media.

“Thus, we decided to conduct the wedding at a nearby temple without any celebration. The groom, Shaiju’s family had also no objection,” the relative added.

Clad in a traditional red silk saree and jewels, Anju stepped out of the relief camp and proceeded to the temple in the morning.

Though the transportation in the district is yet to become normal in the district, the groom and party managed to reach the venue on time.

The temple trustee agreed to provide a sumptuous wedding meal.

The bride and groom later proceeded to the latter’s house.

Many weddings have been postponed due to the flood situation in the state.

Malappuram is one of the worst hit districts ever since heavy downpour since August 8 have turned Kerala into a virtual sea. As of now 183 camps are operating in the state in which over 30,000 persons have taken shelter. —