Thaindian News

By Gina Gomez
Palakkad, India, Aug 22, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Former external affairs minister Shashi Tharoor tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend Sunanda Pushkar in a traditional wedding ceremony that was held at the ex-United Nations diplomat’s ancestral home near Palakkad on Sunday morning. The couple pledged their love to each other in a typical Malayali ceremony in the presence of family members and close friends.

During the wedding ceremony that was held at the village of Elvanchery in the Indian state of Kerala, Shashi Tharoor tied the marital string ‘thali’ in his girlfriend’s neck after which the two exchanged garlands and the bride was presented with a ‘podava’ or a set of clothes symbolizing the solemnization of the marital nuptials. Following the wedding ceremony, the couple who were dressed in traditional Malayali outfits as they exchanged marital vows, sought the blessings of Shashi Tharoor’s 94-year-old maternal grandmother Jayasankari Amma who was present at the event. Although the former UN diplomat had been tight-lipped about the list of invitees, sources have revealed that Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar was one of the prominent dignitaries who graced the occasion. In the meanwhile, it has also been reported that a wedding in Kashmiri style would be conducted later this month in Dubai as Sunanda Pushkar’s family hails from the Kashmir valley.

The relationship of Sunanda Pushkar and the former United Nations diplomat came to the limelight during the bid for the Kochi Indian Premier League team earlier this year. The controversy surrounding the stakes of the IPL team gained widespread momentum owing to which Shashi Tharoor had to resign as the minister of external affairs.