Two men in the city of Indore in Madhya Pradesh have tied the knot among themselves in what they say is an effort to please the rain gods.
However, an LGBTQ magazine has already termed the union a "gay marriage," despite the men saying that their gesture was only symbolic in nature.
However, given that Madhya Pradesh seems to have received normal rainfall and same-sex relationships are still criminalised in India, suspicion has already been raised on social media that this was indeed a gay marriage.
The wedding
Sakaram Ahirwar and Rakesh Adja "tied the knot" at a ceremony in the Musakhedi area of Indore on Thursday, August 3, in order to please the rain gods.
A Times of India report said: "The wedding guests were stunned when the monsoon, which had bypassed Indore for the past few days, showered its bounty just as the marriage was being solemnised."
The wedding had been organised by one Ramesh Singh Tomar, who said he had got the idea from gay relationships and marriages as they have been becoming a common thing. "There was no bride. Both Sakaram and Rakesh were grooms in this marriage. They tied the knot as a gesture to draw Indradev's attention for good rain on Indore," he told ToI.
The two men who got "married" are said to have gone back to their wives after the ceremony.
Real gay marriage?
However, that did not stop an LGBTQ magazine named Gaylaxy from reporting this as a "gay marriage."
Interestingly, there could be more to this incident along those lines when one considers the rainfall data for Western Madhya Pradesh.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the western part of MP — where Indore is located — has just an 8 percent shortfall in rain between June 1 and August 8, with the Met department categorising the precipitation as "Normal."
See the official IMD chart here:
This begs the question: Was this marriage really necessary? If not, what was the real reason behind it? Only time will tell, it seems.
