German's Vedic Wedding

February 7, 2006

A kinship beyond boundaries keeps Steel City upbeat

Wednesday February 8 2006 00:00 IST

"Attired in a khadi dhoti and pyjama and accompanied by his kith and

kin who had flown all the way from Germany, Alexander was visibly

overwhelmed with the Hindu way of life."

ROURKELA: It may not be star-studded, yet this marriage here too

drew some attention.

The `vedic' marriage between a German national and a local girl on the

same day as Indian hockey skipper Dilip Tirkey's wedding kept the

mood in Steel City upbeat.

Shalini Sahu's parental house at Panposh Basti reverberated with Vedic

chants as 33-year-old Alexander Bosnjk preferred to go through the

ceremony in typical Hindu style.

In a departure from norms, Alexander walked all the way to 22-year-old

Shalini Sahu's house, where the wedding took with the `acharya' of

Vedvyas Gurukul ashram Bhimsen Panda solemnising it with `Vedic

mantras' in Oriya, Hindi and English.

Attired in a khadi dhoti and pyjama and accompanied by his kith and

kin who had flown all the way from Germany, Alexander was visibly

overwhelmed with the Hindu way of life.

He said, "It's a tremendous moment. I have even decided to adopt

Shalini's surname." In fact, on the day, he had turned vegan as per

Hindu rituals.

The couple's love story took root at IIT-Guwahati where they met during

their respective career interests. Alexander is an assistant professor in

the designing wing of IIT, while Shalini, a pass-out from Ahmedabad-

based National Institute of Design, is doing her research on natural dyes

there.

Biswanath, who adopted Shalini and also performed the `kanyadaan',

said, "I am lucky to get such a son-in-law. He is broad-minded, religious

and forward looking."

Though several members of the community did not turn up, Gopal Sahu,

Shalini's father asserted that such marriages were means of harnessing

kinship beyond national boundaries.

ID=IEQ20060207085742&Page=Q&Title=ORISSA&Topic=0>

Recommended Posts