No Kanyadan, No Male Priest: Twitter Lauds ‘Woke’ Bengali Wedding

At this Bengali wedding, women priests conducted the ceremony and the father refused to ‘give away his daughter’.

Badass brides and weddings are here to stay!

(Photo: Twitter Screengrab/@asmitaghosh18)

Looks like badass brides and weddings are here to stay.

A tweet with an attached photograph of a wedding in Kolkata has taken the internet by storm. Why, you ask?

The wedding was conducted by women priests and the father refused to perform the ritual of kanyadaan or giving away of the bride! He said that his daughter is nobody’s property, according to the Twitter user who shared details online.

A user posted this picture from the said wedding which eventually went viral.(Photo: Twitter/ @asmitaghosh18)

The wedding also had the mother’s name taken before the father’s which is a departure from conventions!

The user, who shared the post, wrote, “I’m at a wedding with female pandits. They introduce the bride as the daughter of <mother's name> and <father's name> (mom first!!!). The bride's dad gave a speech saying he wasn't doing kanyadaan because his daughter wasn't property to give away. I'm so impressed.”

Many Twitter users have also identified the head priestess- who conducted the wedding- as Nandini Bhowmick. Apart from being a priestess, she is also a drama enthusiast and professor of Sanskrit, according to Twitter users.

Advocated by many as a “progressive wedding”, here’s what Twitterati had to say to it: