Mysore: English Groom, Swedish Bride, Indian Wedding!

Daijiworld Media Network - Mysore

Mysore, May 18: Marriages according to Indian customs between an Indian and a foreigner may be common, but here's a couple, entirely European, who chose to tie the knot in a traditional Indian style.

On Wednesday May 18 Shiva Cave temple here was witness to a rare nuptial bonding where an Englishman married a Swedish woman according to Indian custom. Now, that's what you call globalisation!

The bride, Linah from Sweden and the groom, Mathew Ryan from England had their dream wedding on the top of the picturesque Chamundi Hills, under the shade of the Nandi statue.

Chamundeshwari temple priest Chandrashekar solemnized the wedding that was arranged by Bettada Belaga. Sri Jamunagiri Swamiji of the cave temple gave his blessings.

Mathew and Linah are bound by their common love for yoga. In fact, Mathew even teaches yoga back in England. They learnt yoga in Mysore, a city they have been visiting for the past 12 years. But it was only a couple of years back that they realized that they had more than just yoga common between them.

While on their frequent visits to Mysore, the couple would take long walks to Chamundi Hills to pray at cave temple. It was therefore a fitting venue to bind the two hearts in holy matrimony. They asked the temple priest to solemnize their wedding, and he immediately agreed.

Both have a special place for Indian culture in their hearts. The wedding saw Mathew attired in traditional Indian dhoti complete with shalya, peta and basinga, while Linah was elegance personified in a blue Mysore silk saree. The food too was vegetarian, served on plantain leaves.

The memorable wedding was witnessed by about 150 tourists and members of Bettada Belaga.