Hindu girl ties the knot with Bangladeshi woman in traditional Tamil Brahmin marriage

Chennai, Sep 03: A Hindu girl married a woman from Bangladesh in Tamil Nadu's capital Chennai on Wednesday. The same-sex marriage was performed as per traditional Tamil Brahmin customs.

Subiksha Subramani, daughter of Tamil Brahmin parents settled in Calgary in Canada, tied the knot with Tina, who hails from a conservative Hindu family in Bangladesh, according to a report in The Times of India.

After being in a relationship for six years and facing opposition to their marriage, the couple married with the blessings of members of both families in Tamil Brahmin style. "After years of soldiering through, we had our loved ones standing by us, cheering for us and fulfilling every ritual as per our respective customs - just how we've always wished," the daily quoted 29-year-old chartered accountant Subiksha as saying.

According to Subiskha's mum Poornapushkala Subramani, they feared backlash from society for such a relationship, but her daughter convinced them by addressing all their concerns.

In fact, Subiskha's parents took counselling sessions to change their worldview. "We were like, what does our family's solidarity or societal validation mean in a future where our daughter was not going to be happy," says Poornapushkala.

35-year-old Tina says that she had married a man before she decided to end the marriage. "I grew up in Moulvibazar, a small town in north-eastern Bangladesh. My parents and I came to Montreal in 2003, hosted by my sister who was living here post marriage," she said.

"My parents had no exposure to the LGBTQIA+ community; they believed I had a disease and got me married when I was 19, hoping that would set it right," Tina, identifies as a lesbian. Her sister had opposed the relationship earlier but gradually accepted it.

The marriage was performed by Sanskrit scholar and teacher Saurabh Bondre.

The beautiful part of the story is that Subiksha's 84-year-old grandmother S Padmavathy accepted the relationship and blessed the couple. "When in doubt, choose love," the granny said.