Indian woman to marry herself to highlight 'self-love'

Advocates of the rare and often frowned-upon practice of 'sologamy' sometimes speak with disdain for relationships

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  Kshama Bindu during her solo wedding ceremony at her home in Vadodara, in Gujarat state, India. Bindu’s wedding is being described by Indian media as the country’s first case of 'sologamy', a rare symbolic wedding ceremony where people marry themselves. AP

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  Kshama Bindu performs rituals during her solo wedding ceremony at her home in Vadodara as friends look on. AP

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  When announcing her wedding plans, Bindu said she had always 'wanted to be a bride but not a wife'. Photo: Kshama Bindu

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  Bindu shopping for her wedding day. Photo: Kshama Bindu

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  Bindu's marriage is not legally recognised in India.

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  Bindu, 24, describes herself as a digital creator. She said her wedding symbolised 'unconditional love for herself'. Photo: Kshama Bindu

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  A priest booked for the wedding refused to perform the rituals and the temple where the ceremony was scheduled cancelled the event after opposition from a politician.

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  'I just want to be a bride, like most women, get ready, wear the best wedding outfit and be photographed, but I don’t want to be a wife,' Bindu told 'The National'. Photo: Kshama Bindu

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  The wedding was planned for June 11, but had to be quickly moved to an earlier date after news of the event spread and sparked a backlash.

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  Marrying herself is the ultimate expression of 'self-love', the bride said. Photo: Kshama Bindu

An Indian woman is set to get married in a grand ceremony, complete with guests, feasting and rituals ― but there will be no groom.

I never thought that it would be a big deal but I want people to understand that one can be single and be happy

Kshama Bindu

Kshama Bindu, 24, a digital creator from Vadodara, in western Gujarat state, is due to tie the knot with herself on June 11, in what is likely to be India’s first self-marriage or sologamy wedding.

Ms Bindu has not only splurged on her wedding finery and jewellery and decided on an elaborate menu for the three-day gala, but she has also written five vows for the wedding that will be attended by close friends and solemnised at a banquet hall.

She has also decided to have a two-week honeymoon in the tropical coastal state of Goa.

“I just want to be a bride like most women, get ready, wear the best wedding outfit and be photographed, but I don’t want to be a wife. And so, I am marrying myself,” Ms Bindu told The National.

“I want to give all the love in my heart to myself. I might fall in love with myself even more,” she said.

Ms Bindu will be wearing a dhoti-kurta, a traditional male garment consisting of a loincloth and tunic, for the henna ceremony, but she will be sticking to the nine-yard sari and lehenga, a heavy ornate skirt, for the main festivities.

“I want to be the best bride. I will include both male and female outfits for the ceremonies,” she said.

Ms Bindu, who refused to talk about her parents, said she got the idea of marrying herself while discussing matrimony with her friends.

“There was a conversation about marriage and I checked on the internet if one can marry oneself. I found two or three cases that encouraged me to take the decision,” she said.

Since sharing the news, she has gone viral on social media.

While many have criticised her for the decision, she says a lot of people are sending her positive messages and she wants to use her popularity to promote sologamy and “self-acceptance”.

“I never thought that it would be a big deal but I want people to understand that one can be single and be happy. With my marriage, I want them to look at the positive sides of self-love and accept the concept of marrying self,” she said.

Sologamy is rare but is gradually rising worldwide, although it is not recognised by the laws of any country or social norms, including in India where same-sex unions are also not legally recognised.

Brazilian model Cris Galera divorced herself in December after a 90-day-long sologamy marriage in which she read wedding vows to herself at a Catholic church.

Ms Galera, 33, from Sao Paulo said that she had found “someone special”.

Ms Bindu said that while she’s in love with herself, as tomorrow is uncertain, she won’t mind marrying another person in future, as Ms Galera did.

"But I won't divorce myself," she said.