Sunni activists in Malabar owing allegiance to Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliar have begun work for a mass wedding of 200 odd poor couples to be held on February 24 at Padanthara Markaz near Gudalur.
The annual mass wedding being organised at Padanthara Markaz under the leadership of Devarshola Abdul Salam Musliar has gained prominence in the last few years with indigent couples from different communities getting married at the function.
“The biggest advantage of the function is that it chooses the poorest of the poor from society. It also becomes a symbol of religious harmony. When Hindu couples tie the knot as per their religious custom, Christian couples do according to theirs. For Muslim couples, Ustad (Kanthapuram Aboobacker Musliar) will oversee the nikah,” said K.P. Jamal, Sunni youth wing leader here.
Although a ceiling of 150 couples had been fixed, the number of applications to be included in the mass wedding crossed the limit and the organisers had to raise the ceiling to 200.
As many as 720 couples have got married under the mass wedding ceremony of Padanthara Markaz since Abdul Salam Musliar began the annual gesture in 2014 as part of the 20th anniversary of the institution.
“Although the function is being held at Padanthara near Gudalur and the beneficiaries are from the district of Nilgiris, the Sunni activists of Malabar are actively involved in raising the resources for it,” said Mr. Jamal.
Thousands of people from different communities are expected to attend the mass marriage function. Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliar will preside over the function.
Wedding gifts
When the bride and groom will be given their wedding dress, each bride will be given five sovereigns of gold jewellery and ₹25,000 in cash. “The numbers are huge. So, a solid amount has to be raised,” said Mr. Jamal.
Padanthara Markaz has become a source of help for the poor in Gudalur and neighbouring regions. Markaz officials said that it would help the largest number of couples so far to tie the knot on its silver jubilee year in 2019.