MADIKERI: To be or knot to be. That was the bride- and groom-to-be’s dilemma in the flood-ravaged Madikeri. But like all fairy stories with a happy ending, the wedding bells rang aloud at Omkareshwara Temple here on Sunday with numerous well-wishers and donors blessing the bride Manjula and the groom Rajeesh.
A grand wedding amidst the flood-hit Kodagu was definitely one of the happiest moments since a week.
The natural calamity in Kodagu has changed many lives and Manjula’s life too was to take a bleak turn. Residents of Makkanduru village, Manjula and her family had lost all they owned in a massive landslide and were forced to shift to a relief centre.
Manjula’s wedding was fixed with Rajeesh (a resident of Kerala) on August 26. However, nature’s fury changed the wedding plans.Like the newly printed wedding cards that were washed away with the landslides, Manjula’s wedding too had to be washed off the calendar following property and monetary losses.
However, through media’s support, Manjula’s story took a humanitarian turn and many donors and social organisations came forward to host the wedding. With support from Madikeri Lion’s Club and Seva Bharathi, e-invitations were circulated to Manjula’s family and friends through WhatsApp and the wedding was back on the calendar.
The wedding made me forget sorrows of the disaster’
On Saturday evening, the Brahmin’s Convention Hall which was earlier converted into a relief centre, was converted back into a convention centre with Manjula’s ‘mehendi’ function taking the centre stage. The sorrows of yesterday were replaced with smiles and wishes for the bride-to-be.
On Sunday, the wedding was conducted in a grand manner at the Omkareshwara Temple. A banquet was held at Gejje Sankappa (another relief centre) on Sunday noon. Along with social organisations hosting the wedding, the newly wedded couple were gifted `50,000 by Food Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan, `25,000 by a volunteer and have been promised `50,000 by district in-charge minister Sa Ra Mahesh. “This wedding is beyond grandeur. I did not expect such a big celebration. No words can express my gratitude to the people of Kodagu,” said Manjula. Her mother Baby said, “Media has helped us a lot. The wedding made me forget the sorrows of the disaster.”