Patna, Oct 6 (IANS): Breaking with tradition, a man married a widow in front of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi, whom they termed a 'witness' like God, in Bihar's Ara town, an official said on Thursday.

Twenty eight-year-old Sunny Kumar, a Dalit, married Gudiya Devi, 25.

Instead of a temple, Sunny married Gudiya before a statue of Mahatma Gandhi on the premises of Ara Sadar hospital.

"Both Sunny Kumar and Gudiya have accepted Gandhi as God and treated him as witness to their marriage, like it happens in a temple where God or Goddess are witness to usual marriage," a district health official Sudama Singh said.

Sunny and Gudiya, mother of an eight year old child, are working as sanitation workers in the hospital and knew each other for nearly one year.

Gudiya's first husband died five years ago. "I decided to marry Sunny as he accepted me with my minor son," she said.

Sunny and Gudiya said they met for the first time in the premises of the hospital, developed a friendship and decided to tie the knot there itself.

"This was the reason they chose to marry in the hospital premises instead of a temple. For us, this is the real temple of life and death."

Most of the doctors, health staff and other employees of the hospital were present at the time of this unique marriage and blessed the couple.

Ara is district headquarters of Bhojpur, about 60 km from here.