A Bengal couple had the most memorable, and life-changing Durga Puja this year. Sudip Ghosal and Pritama Banerjee met for the first time at a Durga pandal on the night of Ashtami and decided to tie the knot in the pandal itself.
After knowing each only through mobile screens for almost two and a half months, the couple finally met each other on October 6, during Durga Puja. They first crossed each other’s paths on Facebook, in July, and since there was no turning back. Both of them found to have a special connection with each other.
On the first date itself, Sudip asked Pritama to marry him, and in the next four hours, the newly met couple became the newly-wed couple. The two got married in a puja pandal at Hind Motor, the groom's hometown in Hooghly district. Pritama is a resident of Seoraphuli, in the same district.
'Till that night, we had seen each other only during video calls. We met in the Sealdah area and I proposed marriage,' said Sudip, 35, who works for an international optic lens brand.
'After I proposed, we decided to return to Hind Motor. She rode pillion on my motorcycle and her friends followed us in a car. On the way, while we were talking, we decided to get married right away' said Sudip. 'All Pritama wanted was 'sindoor' (vermilion) on her forehead. I had no issues because I don't really believe in rituals,' he added.
'I have deep faith in Devi (Goddess) Durga. So, getting married before her in a puja pandal without any ritual was enough for me. Now we are planning a social marriage,' said Pritama, who runs a boutique. Her parents, she said, are conservative but have accepted the marriage.
'We could never meet in person before October 6 because our work schedules always clashed. We did not even know that we would meet that night. I don't know whether it was coincidence or divine intervention,' said Sudip.
'I am very happy with my daughter-in-law,' said Alpana Ghosal, the groom's mother.
