Pakistan : Temple to host first-ever mass wedding

Temple to host first-ever mass wedding
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
By By Aroosa Masroor
Karachi

Some 25 couples of the Hindu community from across the country will be united at Shri Swami Narayan Mandir on November 1 that will coincide with their religious festival Diwali this year.

Dr Ramesh Kumar of Pakistan Hindu Council, the body organising the wedding, said that for the first time in the temple’s history a mass wedding is being organised.

The wedding which is scheduled to begin at 7.00pm sharp will last till 9.00pm following which a Diwali function will also be held. “We had initially planned to organise the wedding for 50 couples but only 25 have registered so far,” informed Raja Assermal Manglani, the president of the council.

There will be 25 pundits (priests) to perform rituals of the ceremony in each Mandap. The mandap is a decorated canopy-like structure under which the marriage rituals are performed. “There could not have been a better occasion than Diwali for the couples to start their new life,” said Dr Kumar adding that the council will bear the expenses of the dowry of the brides as well along with other essentials.

Most of the couples will be from the Tharparkar District of Sindh. “Due to increasing poverty, most families cannot afford huge expenses on wedding so we want to encourage the trend of mass weddings,” he said.

The Swami Narayan Temple, located on M.A. Jinnah Road, is the only spacious temple in the city where members of the community gather in huge numbers to mark Diwali, Holi and other religious festivals. “Strict security measures have been adopted and the area around the temple will be sealed for a few hours during the ceremony to prevent any untoward incident,” added Dr Kumar.

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