Sarath Sasi of Kappil Kizhakku, Kayamkulam and Anju Ashok Kumar tied the knot on the mosque premises, with a H... Read More

ALAPPUZHA: The over 100-year-old Cheravally Jamaat Masjid in Kayamkulam on Sunday hosted a Hindu wedding on its premises, complete with a vegetarian feast – including two payasam -- for 4,000 people. People cutting across religions attended the event while the jamaat committee met all its expenses.

Sarath Sasi of Kappil Kizhakku, Kayamkulam and Anju Ashok Kumar tied the knot on the mosque premises, with a Hindu priest leading the rituals. The couple later entered the mosque and sought the blessings of chief imam Riyasudeen Faizy.

Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the wedding was as an example of unity from Kerala . “Congratulations to the newlyweds, families, mosque authorities and people of Cheravally,” he said in a tweet.

“The committee also gave Anju 10 sovereign gold and Rs 2 lakh as wedding gift besides home equipment like TV and fridge,” said Nujumudeen Alummoottil, secretary of Cheravally Muslim Jamaat Committee. He said he knew Anju’s father personally, and wanted to help the family after the father passed away.

Nujumudeen said Anju is also the first woman to enter the mosque. “All religions teach people to love and care for others. Those lessons led to this wedding,” he said.

He had received an application from Bindu, wife of late Ashok Kumar, seeking help to conduct the wedding of her 24-year-old daughter Anju in October last year. “When I shared the application with committee members, all of them came forward to arrange facilities for the wedding. Bindu is staying in a rented house with her three children. We decided to conduct the wedding as per Hindu rituals on the mosque premises,” he said.

“I have a jewellery shop in Kayamkulam and I knew Anju’s father Ashokan, who was a goldsmith. He died of cardiac arrest at the age of 49 on March 14, 2018 after dropping his son Anand at Kayamkulam Boys High School for his SSLC examination and his son wrote the exam without knowing about Ashokan’s demise. I had visited the family then after reading about it in the newspaper. I had also extended some help then,” he said.

Both Anju and her sister Amritha had stopped their studies after completing Plus-Two due to financial constraints. Anand is pursuing higher secondary education now.

On Sunday, Bindu was lost for words to express her gratitude to the committee. She and her husband had sold their house and land in Kayamkulam around 17 years ago owing to financial constraints and they were living in rented houses since then. The unexpected demise of Ashokan came as a shock. “I have joined a private firm as cleaner for a salary of Rs 7,000. The rent of our present house near Cheravally temple is Rs 2,500 and we are somehow meeting our monthly expenses. I did not have any other means to conduct the wedding that I sought Nujumudin’s help,” she said.

