SURI: As the guests gathered around the warmth of the fire on a cold winter's evening, no one could keep their eyes off the bride... or the groom, for that matter. Wednesday's wedding at Ishwarpur village in Birbhum, about 160km from Kolkata, was an ordinary, ritualistic Hindu affair — but it was nothing like they had ever seen.
As the flickering flames threw up shadows, the priest started to recite the mantras, but the beaming couple did not even attempt to repeat the shlokas. Not because they didn't care, but because they couldn't. Both are, you see, speech-and-hearing impaired. And they found each other — and love — online, and carried out a Facebook courtship. While inTulsi Sharma (20) met her husband-to-be Subhendu Saha, a small-time trader in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur, eight years her senior, on the Facebook app around seven months ago. And since phone calls, a mainstay of long-distance relationships, were of no use because of their impairment, love blossomed through newer-age tech: through messages on social media, and sign-language video conversations.
It's one of life's little quirks that technology helped Tulsi overcome every barrier she had known. Not only did it allow her to speak her heart, it also helped her find the person closest to her heart — at a distance of more than 600km from the hamlet she calls home. The farthest Tulsi ever travelled was to Kolkata, to take her HS, which she couldn't clear, some years ago.
"We never imagined our daughter would one day be married to a man from such a far-off land," said Tulsi's father Gurup-ada, after the marriage was solemnised in front of 250 guests. "We did not even know where Bilaspur was, until she told us. She gave us his number in July, after which we got in touch with his family. They invited us to Bilaspur. We went there and since both boy and girl were ready for marriage, we decided on the dates and returned."
Subhendu's family has roots in Bengal, but they settled in Bilaspur several decades ago, where they run a grocery store. Father Subhash said they considered it "God's will" that the two decided to tie the knot. "Since she is also speech-and-hearing impaired, they will share great empathy," he added.
At the small village, where even the nearest railway station, Ahmedpur, is a few kilometers away, the wedding, and the feast — rice, three types of fish, several kinds of dessert, and accompanied by a fireworks display — was the talking point. "We are very happy to see Tulsi get married," said Apurba Sarkar, a local youth. "In this age, when social media often become a cause for concern, it has united two souls."
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