The martial Kodava community of Karnataka is angered by a gay wedding in the community's traditional and sacred Kodava attire. A native Kodava and a California-based doctor, Sharath Ponnappa, married his partner Sandeep Dosanj, a North Indian settled in the US, on Sep 26.
The pictures of the wedding were widely circulated in which the couple is seen following Kodava customs and wearing the attire amidst family and friends.
After the picture went viral, it did not go down well with the Kodavas and said the community will expel and ostracise Ponnappa for this "blasphemous" act and were embarrassed and humiliated.
'It is an insult to our community and our beliefs'
Kodavas usually wear their traditional attire only on special occasions and it is known to be sacred, misuse of it is not tolerated by the community. Usually, Non-Kodavas are discouraged from wearing it.
"Such a shocking thing has never happened in the past. It is an insult to our community and our beliefs. We can't tolerate such a thing. Gay marriage is one thing and wearing sacred Kodava attire to solemnise a gay marriage is another thing. We are against the latter," Madikeri Kodava Samaja president KS Devaiah said.
There are around 3 lakh Kodavas all over the world and one-third of them still live in Kodagu, their ancestral place.
