Tumakuru: There has been an old saying in Kannada, which goes like, ‘ollada ganDanige mosaralli kallu sikkidante’ – like the husband who did not see eye to eye with his wife always found stones in the yogurt.
Marriages have broken off at the eleventh hour in the past for reasons of non-fulfilment of conditions like dowry, gold, vehicle and the like. Occasionally there had been other reasons like either of the bridal couple being previously involved in another relationship.
Raju the runaway
But what happened in Kollapuradamma auditorium in Kunigal in the district on Saturday perhaps takes the spice, if not the cake.
Raju, the son of Timmaiah and Gowramma couple from Swatantrapalya in Bengaluru, and Soumya, the daughter of Prakash and Soubhagya couple of Siddharthanagar in Kunigal, were to walk a ‘saptapadi’ around the fire and recite their ‘kasam’ to be together for life, in weal and woe.
The previous day’s ceremony was to be held on Saturday at 6 pm. But the groom’s entourage arrived only by 9-30 pm. That made some guests to suspect that something was to go amiss.
But the bride’s family showed great patience and ensured that the ‘aaratakshate’ ceremony went on smoothly. When it came to serving dinner, the groom’s mother and a few others asked for sweets, they were served ‘kesri bhaat’ which they refused to accept. Then they asked for ‘rasam’, a Tamil word for Karnataka’s ‘tiLisaaru’. which was not on the menu.
Picking it up as an excuse, they raised a rumpus with the bride’s family and they also wanted to know why a gold ring which was to be given as part of the deal was not given. When the situation was going out of hand, a policeman on night beat was informed.
He arrived and advised the groom’s family not to ruin a function like this and ensure the smooth passage of the ceremony. The matter cooled down. But early on Sunday morning, when the bride’s family went to the rest-room, the groom and his group were found to have quietly left the place.
Bride’s father Prakash has filed a complaint to the Kunigal police regarding the breach of trust. Both Prakash and Soubhagya are daily wage-earners. With borrowed money, they have given Raju Rs 50,000 in cash and a gold chain and a ring as gift in advance at the time of engagement.
Raju’s mother had demanded that another gold ring be given, but Soumya’s family said they could not afford it. Hence the ‘rasam’ issue came handy for the marriage ‘kasam’ to be broken.
But the girl’s parents were also relieved that their daughter did not get to live with such a greedy man and his family. They requested her uncle Govindaraju to save the situation.
He readily agreed to marry Soumya and the marriage took place at the same venue on Sunday. (It may be noted here that in some parts of Karnataka, girls by tradition marry their own maternal uncles.)