VAVUNIYA, Sri Lanka - Fifty-three couples of former Tamil Tiger rebels were married yesterday in a colourful mass ceremony at a government camp in northern Sri Lanka with a Bollywood star as witness.
Some of the brides and grooms had trained or fought together during the island's quarter-century civil war that ended last year.
"He was a well-mannered man and I thought he will be suitable for me," Bhavani said.
Source: AP
Some of the brides and grooms had trained or fought together during the island's quarter-century civil war that ended last year.
- They are among thousands of rebels who surrendered to the government and are still interned at a rehabilitation camp near the northern town of Vavuniya.
- Some of the couples had already been living together without being legally married — socially unacceptable in Sri Lanka. Others had only taken a vow at Hindu temples and exchanged flower garlands, according to an ethnic Tamil tradition.
- Government ministers attended yesterday's ceremony, signing the marriage certificates and giving gifts to the couples.
Bollywood heartthrob Viveik Oberoi also attended and joined camp inmates in a dance to a popular Tamil song from a south Indian movie. Oberoi had come to Sri Lanka for an Indian film awards earlier this month and visited the camp at the government's invitation.- During the ceremony, brides dressed in bright red or yellow sarees and with artificial flowers in their hair stood beside grooms in white shirts with sacred ash on their foreheads. Hindu priests chanted prayers and drummers and pipers played.
- Grooms tied a saffron-coloured thread with a pendant around the brides' necks as relatives threw flowers.
- The couples then exchanged flower garlands and shared a cup of milk and fruit to symbolise sharing.
"He was a well-mannered man and I thought he will be suitable for me," Bhavani said.
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