Casteless Wedding: Pune Couple Hide Their Surnames & Replace Marriage Rituals With Constitution Principles

While India in the recent past has seen quite a few extravagant weddings, there are some couples have tied the knot in unique ways. Notwithstanding the societal norms, Sachin Asha Subhash and Sharvari Surekha Arun from Pune in Maharashtra got married on January 26, 2019.

A different kind of wedding

While India celebrated its 70th Republic Day, these two silent warriors set precedence for India’s youth by marrying each other in the Satyashodhak way. The concept of a Satyashodhak marriage – a ceremony without priests and usual religious rituals, was first coined by social reformer Mahatma Jyotirao Phule.

While religion, caste, class and extravagance dominate most discussions around Indian weddings, the couple, both of whom are social workers in Maharashtra, decided to partake in a casteless wedding which was far away from the usual glitz and glamour. The couple met each other around two years ago at a social event and instantly hit it off. Even as they talked about their wedding both Sachin and Sharvari knew that their wedding is the place where they can truly set an example.

Donated books to build libraries

Talking to The Logical Indian, Sachin Asha Subhash said, “Our wedding was simple, we did not even print wedding invitation cards as we made use of technology and sent it to all our friends and families over social media.” In the invite, the couple made it a point to ask their guests to present books instead of expensive wedding gifts. He said, “We hosted around 1000 people at our wedding and received over 1200 books.” The books, which ranged across genres are going to be donated to libraries in villages, he added.

Not only that, but keeping in line with their ‘casteless’ marriage, the couple hid their last names from their families to eliminate the possibilities of caste-based prejudices. He said, “Both my wife and I have wished to keep our last names private and have not informed our families about it.”

Marriage based on Constitution

Every ritual that one might see in a traditional Hindu wedding was absent from theirs. Sachin said that the couple does not even believe in the idea of Kanyadaan, and hence refrained from including that at their wedding. Moreover, the marriage vows were based on the tenants of the Indian Constitution in the sense that they tied the knot on the basis of seven principles like equality, development, conscience and hard-work as well as mutual respect. These vows replaced the usual Saptapadi ritual

Even their Kundali was a modern one. Subhash said, “We made our own modern Kundali where we decided that ideas like educational qualifications, earnings and other traits should match instead of the age-old superstitious beliefs.” As a return gift, the couple gave away a book, authored by Sharvari to their guests. The book contains the details of their unique wedding.

The marriage ceremony, which was held at the Rashtra Seva Dal auditorium in Pune saw the attendance of some prominent social workers from across Maharashtra and the wedding announcements were overseen by a close friend. Both Subhash and Sharvari run two separate NGOs in Maharashtra which are working for social upliftment. The Logical Indian applauds the couple for setting an example for others.

Also Read: Pune: This NGO Recycles Old Clothes & Provides Free Cloth Pads To Tribal Women