“Marriage happens only once in a lifetime” seems the standard justification for an extravagant wedding ceremony. That they may happen to indulge in it more than once is well…not something to be spoken about in the present instance.
29-year old Manju Raj from Thrissur in Kerala too looks forward to tying the marital knot with Thiruvananthapuram-based Ajeesh on 04 December in the traditional manner prescribed by society, yet she chooses to do so with a difference.
Her wedding-invites have a packet of vegetable seeds enclosed within, along with an attached note that speaks of the importance of agriculture for a better tomorrow.
Speaking to The News Minute, Manju -a former special school teacher in Thrissur- believes that the effort spent on printing wedding invitation cards is ultimately money down the drain, as none of the invitees would bother to take a second glance at it.
“When the designer who is a friend printed a card based on the Krishna-Radha theme, I insisted that he opt for the ‘green’ touch,” says Manju.
Farming was an obvious choice, as Manju has never managed to find the time or resources to plant a few seeds, even though she would have loved to do so. That her playwright fiancé Ajeesh is associated with an NGO that works for the welfare of trees, is an added impetus.
Though the initial idea was to give away saplings to the 500-odd guests at the venue, Manju dropped it, considering the inconvenience to at least a few.
“It could have proved to be inconvenient for at least a few of them to carry the saplings home. We hence decided it was more appropriate to gift vegetable-seeds along with the invitation. The fact that we personally called on each of our guests have made them feel part of a larger cause,” she smiles.
Ajeesh chips in: “A blood donation camp has also been organized at the wedding venue.”
With love in their hearts for both Nature and fellow-beings, here is one wedding that is sure to be a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ experience.