With matrimonial columns filled with ads for Nair boys, Pisharody boys, Ezhava boys and the like seeking alliances from girls “from the same caste”, it seems Kerala’s Dinkoists are beginning to feel left out.
Rasmin Shivashankar, a Dinkoist from Paravoor, put up an ad in the classified section of the Sunday edition of the Malayalam daily Mathrubhumi, seeking a bride who also worshipped Dinkan.
Reposting the ad on Facebook, Rasmin, said that he had resorted to the ad because of the difficulty in finding a fellow Dinkoist for marriage. He said that he had resorted to newspaper classifieds because online portals discriminated against adherents to his faith.
“I have an account on Bharat matrimony website, but they do not have Dinkoism as a religion in their options. Is this not discrimination towards minorities?" Rasmin lamented.
For the uninitiated, Dinkoists are a mock religious group out to take a dig on religious communities who tend to take their ideologies a tad too seriously. Dinkan, their deity, is a little mouse clad in red underwear, believed to possess great divine powers.
Being the only son of atheist parents, Rasmin says he was never fond of gods until he heard about Dinkan and his powers, and particularly his undemanding nature.
"Other Gods are so demanding of our devotion. If we don't pray to them, they begin to behave like goondas who will make your life miserable. But Dinkan is not like that...he is very open," Rasmin says.
Rasmin says that, like his deity, he is also quite “open” in his search for a bride. Thus, he declares that he is willing to marry a bride of any nationality, even Pakistan.
Just like the deity he follows, Rasmin is also quite "open." His advertisement extends to all women, irrespective of their caste, religion and nationality.
However, the 29-year-old who runs an engineering coaching centre says that the initial response has been slightly disappointing. “
“One woman from Dubai, who claimed to be a Dinkoist, called me up today after seeing the advertisement. But I’m not convinced of her devotion, so I am not considering that alliance at all,” Rasmin says.
Still, he is positive that women devotees of Dinkan, who have largely remained anonymous thus far, will soon reach out, as more Dinkoists step into the public gaze.