Gujarat woman to 'marry herself', claims it would be first 'sologamy' in India
Ahmedabad, Jun 2: A 24-year-old woman has created a buzz in Gujarat's Vadodara city with the announcement that she would be marrying herself by undergoing traditional rituals of a Hindu wedding on June 11.
Experts, however, said that a 'sologamy' or self-marriage would not have any legal standing in India.
Speaking about her intentions, Kshama Bindu said she wished to break stereotypes and inspire others who are "tired of finding true love."
Bindu, who identifies as bisexual, also claimed that her marriage will be the first instance of sologamy in India.
"At one point in my life, I realised that I don't require a prince charming because I am my own queen. I want the wedding day, but not the next day. That is why I have decided to marry myself on June 11. I will dress up like a bride, take part in rituals, my friends will attend my wedding and then I will come back to my house instead of going with the groom," she told reporters.
Bindu, who is a working professional, added that her mother, who lives in another city, has given her consent for this unusual "groom-less" wedding.
"I have already booked a pandit (priest) to solemnise my marriage. I have observed that unlike in the West, self marriages are not popular in India. Hence, I have decided to start this trend and inspire others. People may not like my idea, I am confident that I am doing the right thing," she said.
Reacting to comments that she was doing it for publicity, Bindu said she is already popular on social media as an influencer.
"I just want to break stereotypes and inspire others to love themselves. There are people who are tired of finding love or getting divorced multiple times. Being a bisexual, I was also in love with a man and a woman in the past. But now, I want to give all the love to myself," she said.
Legal experts, however, say that sologamy does not have any legal backing in India.
"As per Indian laws, you cannot marry yourself. There has to be two persons in a marriage. Sologamy is not legal," senior High Court advocate Krishnakant Vakharia said.
Another senior lawyer Chandrakant Gupta said, "The Hindu Marriage Act uses the terminology 'either of the spouse', which simply means that there must be two persons to complete the marriage. Sologamy will never pass the legal scrutiny."
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
===================
The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
