The 47th free mass wedding ceremony for persons with disabilities and the underprivileged, organised by Narayan Seva Sansthan at Seva Mahatirth, Badi, concluded on Sunday with 50 couples taking the seven sacred vows.
A total of 100 brides and grooms from different states entered into wedlock and embarked on a new journey of family life. the 50 couples took seven vows around the sacred fire amid Vedic chants. Some reached the wedding mandap with the support of crutches, while others walked with the help of artificial limbs. Several couples comprised one person with a disability and one without, who chose each other as life partners. A special aspect of the wedding was that several of the brides and grooms had earlier received treatment, surgeries, artificial limbs or assistive devices and rehabilitation support at Narayan Seva Sansthan. Having once come to the institution seeking treatment and support, they now left the same campus hand in hand with their life partners to begin their new family lives.
For them, the wedding was not merely a social ceremony but the beginning of a new chapter. Narayan Seva Sansthan President Prashant Agarwal said that persons with disabilities need respect, opportunities and a secure future, rather than sympathy. Society should recognise their abilities and talents instead of focusing only on their disabilities. He said the wedding included couples where one partner has a disability and the other does not, reflecting their decision to choose each other as life partners beyond prevailing social perceptions. Agarwal said that over the past 22 years, the institution has facilitated the marriages of 2,582 young men and women with disabilities.
