Karimnagar: Usually, it’s the purohit who is called in to conduct pujas and wedding rituals. But this time, it was the purohit who was at his own wedding ceremony — and performing a noble deed too. Katnapalli Girisha Shankar Sharma, a purohit who holds M.Sc and B. Ed degrees, and has been working at a temple in Warangal, volunteered to marry an orphan woman. The woman, who had discontinued her studies after Class X is 22 years old. The purohit’s age is 32, according to information provided by district child protection officer Durdala Parveena. A native of Yendapalli village in Velgatur mandal, he had expressed his interest in doing so to an official of Shishu Vihar, a government-run orphanage in the city and accepted the match that he proposed.
Puja was brought up at Bala Sadan, an orphanage run by the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), in Khammam, after a nodal officer of the department had her shifted to the home many years ago when he spotted her on a road in Karimnagar. She had lost her parents at a tender age.
The ceremony over, Shankar Sharma vowed to take care of the woman forever and make her happy while Puja expressed her gratitude to the purohit, her eyes welling up with tears.
Officials of the ICDS and Women and Child Welfare department performed the wedding, with the management of Geetha Bhavan providing the venue and a sumptuous meal free of cost for about 500 invitees who were delighted to attend such an unusual event. Several Anganwadi workers sponsored household articles, such as an almirah, a cooler and crockery. Self-help groups, voluntary organisations, business establishments and officials of the two departments extended financial help.
Finance and civil supplies minister Etela Rajender, Karimnagar MLA Gangula Kamalakar and KMC mayor S. Ravinder Singh, ICDS project director S. Mohan Reddy and district child protection officer Durdala Parveena and several other officials attended the marriage.
