UP couples get married in unusual fashion, defy tradition

Prayagraj: Two couples in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj on Sunday got married in an unusual fashion where instead of traditional rituals like ceremonial fire and chanting of mantras, they chose to take a pledge of mutual love, trust, faith, and equality.

The couples - Avinash and Anjali, and Amit and Shiva - took the pledge in the presence of their parents and many social workers and eminent personalities. The unique marriages were held in a residential complex of Chatham lines locality.

The ceremony was intended to send a message for people to look beyond caste lines and religious beliefs. The couples signed documents containing the written pledge and the same was countersigned by a few witnesses who attended the ceremony.

27-year-old Avinash, who holds a master's in civil engineering hails from Domanpura village of Patherdewa in Deoria, while his partner Anjali, who belongs to a different caste, has a master's degree in commerce from Allahabad University.
 
"We are not against religion, but the age-old rituals associated with marriage do not fit well into contemporary society. For a happy married life or for someone to get married, love is the only prerequisite and not caste, social status, dowry or any of such irrelevant practices put on display," Avinash was quoted as saying by news agency IANS.

"We are from different castes and our families have endorsed this relationship. I think that if the boy and the girl love each other, only then they should marry and for that it is not bad to spend some years together, knowing each other for better compatibility," he added.

The other groom, Amit, said that they were against the usual customs. "The girl is not a commodity that her father has to give as a 'daan' in a marriage," he asserted.

Both brides emphasized that they would not wear traditional 'sindoor' and 'mangalsutra'.

A concert by music composer Vivek Vishal was organized on the occasion.

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