Very few set out to strike a blow to patriarchy as the Sahasrabuddhe-Chauthaiwale family wedding did last week. Nayana Sahasrabuddhe, the mother of the bridegroom was especially firm that the Kanyadan ritual be edited out of the wedding ceremony. “In Nagpur and Pune there are at least 1000-2000 women priests but not all of them can perform wedding rituals, some stick to smaller poojas etc,” said Ms. Kasalikar. A little diffidently she does admit that Kanyadan is an important part of the wedding ceremony, and ironically she says that with some other families a little insistence on undergoing it works, but not in this case. “Normally I do tell the families that Kanyadan is an essential part of the ceremony, but in this case, the two sides were quite firm,” she said.

Source: The Hindu May 15, 2017 11:26 UTC