Namboothiris turn to orphanages for brides

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Not only do they have to please the deities, but the priests from Namboothiri families in the state now have to please the officials of the Social Welfare Department also Call it the sign of the times, the young Namboothiri priests looking for a bride have started approaching the orphanages and shelter homes under the Social Welfare Department of the Government.The Thiruvananthapuram Children’s Home Hall saw such a marriage on Wednesday when Anand from Kannur and Sheeba, an inmate of the Mahila Mandiram here tied the knot.The Kozhikode After Care Home will give away two girls, to two‘pujaris’, on August 29 and September 15.“At the Kannur Mahila Mandiram, we have received a total of seven applications from young priests.So has the After Care Home in Kozhikode.We look at the applications, enquire about the bridegroom and his background before giving the girls away in marriage,”said K K Subair, district probation officer, Kannur.Most of the men, who have approached the governmentrun shelter homes, are in their thirties.“They usually wait and try their best to get a girl from their own communityOnly when such attempts fail do they approach theinstitutions,” said SubairThe priests in the community are facing a major social problem, with girls of the community unwilling to marry them.“There are several factors to it.The lifestyle is different, so is the dress code and most often the girls in the community, who are generally more educated, prefer men withwhite-collar jobs,” said K M Parameswaran Namboothiry,state general secretary of the Yogakshema Sabha.