A unique wedding for a unique man.

By Sreekanth A. Nair

Aditya Tiwari, a Pune-based software engineer, who has the distinction of the youngest single parent in India after he adopted a baby boy, will soon get married in a unique wedding.

Tiwari had adopted one year, nine months old Binney who suffers from Down’s syndrome from an orphanage of the Missionaries of Charity, last year.

Now, the 28-year-old software engineer is getting ready to tie the knot with a girl from Indore on July 16. The marriage ceremony will be held in a different way to extend help to the needy people.

The couple will host a party to more than 10,000 homeless people and orphans. More than 1000 stray dogs and zoo animals will also be given a feast. He is also planning to plant 100 trees as part of the celebrations.

“People tend to spend lakhs of rupees on their marriage by hiring disk jockeys, on decorations and lavish menu but I do not want to do the same,” Tiwari told The Hindustan Times. “As it is one of the happiest days of my life, I want to include people who never get any invitations like children from the orphanage, homeless and poor people,” he added.

Tiwari’s life took a turn when he met Binney at an orphanage of the Missionaries of Charity in Indore in 2014. He fell in love with Binney after having played with him for a few minutes.

Later, he realized that nobody was willing to adopt the boy as he was suffering from Down’s syndrome. “I decided that Binney would be my son. I had always wanted to adopt a child since I read about Sushmita Sen’s single parent adoption. So, I thought why not?” he was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.

But, the road ahead was not smooth mainly due to the legal formalities. The orphanage authorities were not willing to hand over Binney as they were against single-parent adoption. Also, according to the rules, a single parent had to be 30 years of age to adopt a child.

He contacted Women and Child Welfare Department (WCD) minister Maneka Gandhi and Prime Minister’s Office seeking help to adopt the child. After waiting for months, in 2015, the rule regarding the age was revised to 25 years paving his way for the adoption.

The troubles of Tiwari didn’t end there. Despite the direction of Maneka Gandhi, the orphanage authorities were not willing to hand over the child. Finally, when the pressure mounted, they allowed Tiwari to adopt Binney in December last year. Binney has been renamed as Avnish Tiwari after adoption.

“I took him to a pediatrician who said we might not require an immediate surgery for the hole in his heart. As far as Down’s syndrome goes, I have read up about it and consulted doctors. I know my son’s mental growth will be slow but unlike his biological parents, I won’t give up,” Tiwari told The Indian Express.