Kshama Bindu shared pictures of the various ceremonies including the haldi and mehendi on Instagram.
Kshama Bindu, the 24-year-old woman from Vadodara, has finally married herself. While the wedding was initially scheduled to take place on June 11, Ms Bindu advanced her "wedding" by two days to June 9. As promised, Ms Bindu followed several rituals in what is considered to be the first recorded instance of sologamy in Gujarat. She has shared pictures of the various ceremonies including the haldi and mehendi on Instagram, where she is seen in the company of her family and friends.
The wedding ceremony alone went on for 40 minutes and the groom was not the only person missing from the wedding. Ms Bindu's ceremony didn't have a priest either and entailed digitalised rituals that were conducted at her home in Gotri. As per a report by The Times Of India, during the wedding, Ms Bindu's friends and well-wishers "showered flowers" and promised to always support her.
Speaking about her wedding, Ms Bindu was quoted as saying, "I am very happy to finally be a married woman." She further added, "Unlike other brides, I won't have to leave my home after the wedding!"
On Facebook, in a video message after the wedding, she has expressed gratitude for everyone's support and encouragement, and also for giving her "more power for what I believed in". She was also ecstatic that so many people wanted to attend the wedding.
Here's the video:
Ms Bindu had also shared pictures from the pre-wedding ceremonies on Instagram. Posting images from her haldi ceremony, she said, "Khudpe haldi lagi to sawar gai mai, Khudse ek rishte me kal bandh gai mai…( I applied turmeric paste and adorned myself, I have bound myself to a sacred relationship with me)."
Ms Bindu followed this up with images of her mehendi ceremony and said, "Mehndi rach gai, Mai is rang me utar gai…(I am steeped in the colour of the mehendi)."
While the wedding was earlier scheduled for June 11, it was pushed ahead to avoid any controversy, Ms Bindu said. "I received no threats but wanted the wedding to be peaceful, so I preponed it. It was like any other Hindu wedding. I applied vermillion & put on mangalsutra and garland. I also took pheras," she told ANI.
Ms Bindu, who works for a private firm, has described self-marriage as a “commitment to be there for yourself and unconditional love for oneself.”
Her parents, as she had previously said, were supportive of her decision. She is also supposed to go to Goa for a two-week honeymoon.