TN Single Mom Defies Custom and Gives Her Daughter Away at Wedding

Rajeshwari Sharma smashes patriarchal and orthodox customs by performing her daughter’s Kanyaadanam.

Rajeshwari marrying her daughter off.

(Photo Courtesy: Aravindan Sudarsan/Facebook)

When a boy and a girl decide to get married, the parents from both sides play immensely consequential roles. However, a single parent ie. a parent without a spouse, is often not accorded the status and the say that they deserve.

Their presence or excessive activity in their child’s wedding, in the oft-flawed Indian tradition, is considered inauspicious by some. This diminishes their role to that of mere spectators, as someone else marries their child off.

However, breaking tradition and setting a delightful precedent, a single mother, in Tamil Nadu, decided to perform her daughter’s Kanyadaanam. A photograph from the wedding, clicked by Varun Suresh, has gone viral on Facebook along with an appreciation post by Aravindan Sudarshan.

In the photograph, the bride can be seen sitting on her mother’s lamp, while the groom performs the ritual of tying a necklace around her neck.

Speaking to TNM, the mother Rajeshwari Sharma shares the earnestness with which she decided to be the one giving her daughter away, despite custom.

I very much wanted to be a part of my daughter’s wedding and so I decided to be the one who had to give her away in marriage.

Rajeshwari also adds that until she came across a young, understanding priest called Raghavan, she had thought that finding a priest who would agree to her role in the wedding would not be an easy task.

According to the TNM report, Rajeshwari Sharma had gotten married at 21 to a man 12 years older. 17 years later when they mutually decided to end their marriage, Rajeshwari had two children and was also doing a full time job and her husband was not an active part of the family.

Since he (the husband) wasn’t a major part of my children’s lives, it was not very difficult for them to adjust. My family, in that regard, although very concerned, was very supportive.

Rajeshwari to TNM

Admiring Rajeshwari’s decision to play such an active role in her daughter’s wedding despite an absent spouse, Aravindan Sudarshan writes in his Facebook post:

Life and destiny are not always pleasant, but you can always choose to make it better for yourself and the people around you.

Rajeshwari’s decision to defy custom comes as a breath of fresh air, and the photograph stands testimony to the fact that the bride and the groom could not have had a happier wedding.