Marriages around the world in every culture and nationality are considered a sacred institution. Although they have a serious purpose, and as rituals and customs vary, they are a certainly a joyous occasion.

Earlier this week, Orange local, Sri Ramya Pullepu and Krishna Teja Suram held a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony or Vivaaha, as it is known in Sanskrit on Wednesday 18th November under the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955.

This is the first traditional Hindu Wedding of its kind in the Central West. Proud Mother, Anantha Maddirala said she was very excited. Following with tradition in the societies of the Indian Sub-Continent, Krishna and Sri’s marriage has been arranged by their families.

Traditional items were purchased from Sydney and traditional clothing for the Bride and Groom was purchased all the way from India.

With 50-60 friends and family attending to join in the celebrations, Anantha admitted it wasn’t all smooth sailing as they began wedding trials in March, just as COVID hit Australian shores.

“We didn’t know what was going to happen in March,  as time went on we  thought we could only have 30 people but now that restrictions have eased we can have more so we are very lucky.”

A Hindu Priest from Sydney performed the events in the wedding, as the main events were Kanayadanam (giving away the bride), Madhuparkam, Mangalyadharanam (The bride wears two mangalya's (necklace) one given by her father and another by the groom's father), Paani Grahanam (The Bond of Knot Tying), Saptapadi (this ritual between the bride and the groom is what officiates the wedding ceremony as per Hindu marriage traditions), and Pradhaana Homam (the bride must place her hand on her husband). These events took around 3-4 hours.

Unfortunately due to the chaos of COVID restrictions, Krishna’s and Sri’s extended family couldn’t attend the wedding, although live video link was shared for viewing of the wedding for Krishna’s and Sri’s family and friends in India, USA and other parts of the world.

On November 21, Krishna and Sri will celebrate again to take care of the Australian legal requirements and recognise Australian wedding traditions as the family feel very much a part of their ‘Aussie’ community, having lived here for 11 years now.

You can find photos from their special ceremony in our next edition.

Congratulations Krishna and Sri!