Andhra Pradesh - Tirupati   

Kalyanamasthu: 611 couples tie the knot

Set for the event: Grooms and brides getting ready to enter wedlock at the TTD’s "Kalyanamasthu" programme in Tirupati on Sunday.

TIRUPATI: As many as 611 couples of Chittoor district entered into wedlock by tying the marital knot at ‘Kalyanamasthu’, the mass marriage programme organized across the State by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) on Sunday.

This is the second phase of the programme which was conceptualized by the temple management as its social obligation of preserving the sanctity of Hindu marriage system. Only 611 of the 640 couples registered from the district took part.

At the programme conducted at Sri Padmavathi Kalyana Mandapam complex here, the 83 brides and their grooms (the highest in the district) were made to sit in several rows facing each other, accompanied by their relatives and well-wishers.

The hall reverberated with the chanting of scriptures and ‘mantras’, which were blared through audio and microphone systems to make them audible to the grooms who repeated them.

The traditional wind and percussion instrument players played several impressive tunes associated with the marriage system.

The hour-long series of rituals included the ‘Jeelakarra Bellam’ ceremony, ‘Mangalya dharana’ and ‘Thalambralu’.

The blushing brides attained nuptial bliss when their respective grooms tied ‘Mangalasutra’ around their neck.

When the parents and relatives showered ‘Akshintalu’ on them as a mark of blessing, the TTD board members O.V.Ramana, C.Bhaskar Reddy and the Joint Executive Officer G.Balaramaiah joined the celebrations.

Minister for Medical Education Galla Arunakumari took part in the event conducted at Kalyana Venkateswara temple premises in Srinivasa Mangapuram and blessed the 34 couples.

Interestingly, the number was the lowest at 15 in Vayalpad constituency represented by the Chief Whip N.Kirankumar Reddy. The number of weddings conducted at the other constituency headquarters in the district is Chittoor (37), Palamaner (39), Kuppam (38), Punganur (45), Madanapalle (61), Thamballapalle (37), Vayalpadu (15), Piler (38), Srikalahasti (50), Satyavedu (20), Puttur (43), Nagari (46) and Vepanjeri (21). Meanwhile, APSRTC left no stone unturned to popularize its ‘Couple gift cards’ at the premises. Marriage registration certificates were also given away to the couples on the spot.

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