When Sonakshi Pratap and Malhar Lakdawala, both 30 and based out of Mumbai, tied the knot last weekend in Mahabaleshwar, Maharashtra, they decided to discard the rule book for traditional Hindu weddings and just do their own thing. “We decided to split the wedding into two parts, because of COVID-19. The first day, with just 50 people from both sides of the family, we had a Hindu wedding, but without the archaic rituals that are so patriarchal.
Then the next two days we had our friends over and did something very different,” says Sonakshi, who along with Malhar, has always been very passionate about issues like gender equality. To begin with, Sonakshi eschewed the typical practices of mehendi, sindur, and the mangalsutra, all indicative of the subservience of Hindu brides to their husbands.
The couple also skipped the kanyadaan to signify the coming together of two equals rather than the handing over of a woman to a man. Instead of the traditional baraat, Sonaskshi entered the wedding on the horse alongside her. “Sonakshi has always been very independent.
She established her own business and is definitely not the type of woman who’s going to let herself be owned in that traditional Hindu sense, which I love about her, and so we decided to do away with all these old fashioned rituals and make a statement,” explains Malhar. “None of this would have been possible without the complete support of my in-laws.
Malhar and I are fitness enthusiasts, and I have always been passionate about horse-riding, and doing stunts like standing on the horse. In fact, it was Malhar’s parents who suggested I ride the horse with him, and cheered me on the loudest,” says Sonakshi, with Malhar chiming in, “Sonakshi’s family is more conservative and wanted a very traditional ceremony. But they also couldn’t say no to their damaad (son-in-law) and so I took a firm stand that this is the kind of wedding both of us wanted.” Both being passionate about nature and conservation, the two also held a tree-planting drive as part of their wedding activities.
A trek was also organised in the surrounding forests followed by a surprise white Christian-themed wedding in the jungle. The invitation, quite different from the usual ostentatious gilt-edged card, was jungle-themed and asked guests to ditch the jewellery, heavy make-up, and heavier wedding attire and instead bring jogging outfits, running shoes and socks, warm clothing for the night.
“I had not told my side of the family any of these things were going to happen as I was scared they would object and create a fuss. So on the day itself, when I entered riding the horse with Malhar, they were mesmerised. We truly think and hope that our wedding was a strong statement on gender equality, the kind that hasn’t been made before,” concludes Sonakshi. No doubts about that.