Couple ties knot on train as Sri Sri Ravi Shankar recites mantras

In what seemed like a bid to be on the right track, a couple tied the knot on board a flower-bedecked train, with the ceremony solemnised by spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

Pharmacist Sachin Kumar and tax department employee Jyotsna Singh Patel were wedded somewhere between Gorakhpur and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, the Railways said.

"This is the way to conduct weddings - simply. It is a message I want to send everywhere that weddings should be simple and people need not take loans and spend lakhs for it," said Ravi Shankar, the founder of the Art of Living group, in a video message released by his organisation.

Kumar, from Udhani Khurd village in Kausambi, Uttar Pradesh, works in Bhadohi in the state while Patel is with the Central tax department.

The marriage was solemnised by Ravi Shankar on the special train in which he has been travelling for a yatra across Uttar Pradesh.

The Railways later said the couple was scheduled to be married in April but agreed to get married on the spot on the advice of Ravi Shankar.

Kumar was wearing a pair of trousers and a shirt while Jyotsna was wearing salwar kameez.

One of the co-passengers offered a saree to the bride, while the groom too got ready for the occasion with the help of the co-passengers.

The railway staff on duty allowed them to get ready for the wedding in AC first class compartment.

"During the marriage, it was like I was with family. We got ready in the first AC compartment. Really every train has a feeling of home," Kumar said.

It was not clear if the newlyweds were a part of the AOL gurus entourage or among the many followers who have been greeting him during his halts through the journey.

"Perhaps first time in the history of Indian Railways, a marriage happened during the train journey! Jyotsna and Sachin got married in the presence of Gurudev @SriSri," tweeted a follower of Ravi Shankar, tagging the prime minister as well as the railway minister. Scores of pictures of the garlanded couple were also posted on the site.

PTI