The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : UK girl takes vows at ‘Kalyanamasthu’

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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

UK girl takes vows at ‘Kalyanamasthu’

Special Correspondent

Harriet Lowe goes through all the rituals connected with a Hindu marriage with her partner Kranthi Chaitanya, a techie from Tenali

PHOTO: P.V. SIVAKUMAR

Marital bliss: Harriet Lowe, bride from England, and her bridegroom Kranthi Chaitanya at ‘Kalyanamasthu’ in Hyderabad on Wednesday. —

HYDERABAD: ‘Kalyanamasthu’ – the ambitious mass marriages programme of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) – saw an unusual bride entering wedlock with her long time friend at Lalita Kala Thoranam here on Wednesday.

The event was fixed between 9.20 a.m. and 9.32 a.m. but over a dozen couple turned up much after the muhurat, leading to confusion at the pandal. The delay in their arrival and the subsequent formalities of enrolment at the reception gave them and their parents anxious moments. A poor bride who did not even possess a mobile phone was nervously sitting at the spot allotted for dressing as her parents cursed their fate when the groom could not be traced.

In the backdrop of this bride’s plight, it was already rumoured that the couples resorted to swapping at the last minute which was denied by TTD executive officer I.Y.R. Krishna Rao. He told The Hindu that the authenticity of couples was confirmed in advance by various parameters. He also allayed apprehensions about marriages after muhurat as its influence remained for half-an-hour.

The spotlight at the programme was, however, on the man who tied the nuptial knot on Harriet Lowe, a flight lieutenant of Royal Air Force, UK. He is T. Kranthi Chaitanya, a software engineer from Tenali in Guntur. They passed through all the rituals connected with a Hindu marriage along with other couples who sat in rows in front of a large congregation. They received special compliments from Governor N.D. Tiwari, Chief Minister K. Rosaiah and other VIPs. Ms. Lowe’s parents Tim and Karen and their eight other friends and relatives who flew down from Manchester and other places in England were among the audience. The women visitors were dressed in pattu saris worn for marriages. Mr. Tim is a headmaster in a school at Manchester.

Ms. Lowe and Mr. Kranthi Chaitanya met five years ago while doing part-time jobs as students. The former subsequently joined the Air Force while Mr. Kranthi Chaitanya shifted to hospitality management. He did his B. Tech. in electronics from Madras University and pursued his M. Tech. in London. The groom’s parents were pleased with their daughter-in-law whom they had met a few months ago when she visited India.

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