VELLORE: Not all marriages happen in heaven. Some of them even happen with an eleventh-hour drama where only two people really know who is marrying whom. One such incident occurred near Tirupattur last Thursday, when a man tied a thali to his brother’s bride just a few moments before the ‘arranged’ marriage was to be solemnised.
Sources said one Kumaravel (all names changed) of Chelrampatti near Tirupattur had arranged a marriage for his second son, Kumar, with a 20-year-old girl from Rajapalayam. The marriage was planned for June 1 at Bala Murugan Temple at Ilayampatti.
But on marriage day, when the priest instructed Kumar to tie a thali around the bride’s neck, Velu, Kumar’s younger brother who was standing near him, pushed him away and tied another thali, which he had kept in his shirt pocket, to the bride.
Both parties were shocked, and once back to senses, the girl’s family picked a quarrel with Velu. It is alleged that he was also beaten up.
The incident took a sharp turn when the bride refused to remove the thali. By then, it became clear who really arranged the marriage. The girl and Velu revealed that they had been in a relationship ever since they met at Rajapalayam a few months back, when Velu went to her house to arrange the marriage for his elder brother. “The girl had met Velu even before she met her fiance Kumar,” locals said.
Kumar apparently threw away his ‘blessed thali’ in frustration, and left the marriage venue. His whereabouts are unknown till date.
The drama took a new turn when the girl’s family refused to accept the marriage and forcibly removed her thali, taking her to Rajapalayam the same day. But the girl seemed firm. “The girl refused to marry anyone else other than Velu. Her relatives even called Velu and invited him to Rajapalayam. However, he declined saying that the thali he had tied on her had been removed,” local sources said.
On Saturday night, the girl’s relatives came to Tirupattur and forcefully took Velu to Rajapalayam. Was it an abduction? No police complaint has been filed as yet.
Kumar still not seen, no Velu complaint yet
Kumar’s relatives had also lodged a missing complaint at Tirupattur taluk police station, but it was withdrawn within an hour. The police, however, said they did not receive any complaint regarding Velu.