Spanish couple reties knot in Tamil style

TIRUPATTUR: Awed by the Tamil culture of marriageand related rituals, 15 Spanish tourists including four men, who were on their way to Bengaluru, dressed up in saris and dhotis while one married couple retied their nuptial knot at a small temple near Natrampalli in Tirupattur district on Tuesday night.

The vehicle with the tourists was crossing Ezharaipatti near Natrampalli when they saw a large group of villagers sitting cross-legged and immersed in discussions. Wanting to know more, they stopped the vehicle and sought permission to sit in and listen.

“The tourists were told about the Gram Sabha meeting and what it entailed. It was then a woman tourist spotted a woman pushing her thali inside her sari and wanted to know what it was,” a source said.

“Local women through translators explained that it was the ‘thali’ which was tied by her husband under traditional ‘one woman for one man’ norm. They then wanted to know where the wedding ceremony takes place and the villagers said that it happens in local temple or in a marriage hall.”

Two of the tourists, who were already married, asked if they could retie their knot and when the villagers acquiesced, arrangements were made for the ‘function’ at a local Ganesh temple. The couple dressed in traditional style exchanged garlands with candles taking the place of ‘diyas’.

Then as part of the marriage feast, Pongal was cooked and given to the visitors who were made to sit cross-legged on the floor – the men were unable to do so and with dhotis awry, they sat in disarray – after which all hugged each other and the visitors left to continue their journey.

For the locals, it was the stuff of gossip which would keep them engaged for quite some time.