Desi Galaxy

Aishwarya Rai, former Miss World and currently one of the top actoress in India, married a tree and a God’s idol as a part of religious rituals to remove the bad effects of planet Mars on her astrology. Aishwarya Rai is going to marry Abhishek Bachchan, an actor and son of legendary Indian superstar Amitabh Bachchan. Aishwarya Rai is a Mangleek, an astrological term used for people under the influence of Mars. A San Francisco Bay Area Vedic astrologer Pandit Parashar explained that it means Ash’s marriage to Abhishek could either end in divorce or his death. Marrying a tree and god’s statue would remove the bad impact of Mars from her future.

There are millions of people who follow these super stars, they read about them in newspapers and watch news on television. May be all this is just part of creating a hype around Abhishek Aishwarya marriage, or may be the two families really believe in these rituals. It is their right to practise religious rituals, but they are something of an Idol themselves in India. Their acts may effect the lives of millions who look at them as role models. In a country where astrological match making is still considered important such acts would push back the enlightment efforts carried out by numerous reform organizations in the country. A lawyer in Patna has filed a lawsuite against Aishwarya Rai for practicing the ‘untouchability’ service, which is associated with the caste system, because such ceremonies are in violation of the Indian constitution and are deemed offensive to women. The petitioner wants Aishwarya and Bachchan family to publicly apologize for ‘false marriages’.

I also believe that the Bachchans and Rais have a right not to apologize for practising their beliefs, but marrying trees and statues is just too much of stupidity.