When Sreeja, a transgender woman, and Arun Kumar, a cisgender man, reached a temple in Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu, the temple management’s behavior made them feel that maybe love will fail in the face of discrimination and stigma.

Their wedding was planned by their friend Bhoomika and Aarthi, and they had made phone calls to the media and the police the previous evening so that there would be no hurdles at the time of the wedding. But when they reached the temple and Bhoomika went to the counter to ask for a marriage receipt so as to produce it to the priest, the temple management refused and simply returned the money that the couple had paid for the wedding rituals. They then asked the couple to leave.

“We paid Rs 600 the previous day and produced all the details of the couple, including their Aadhaar cards. The management said we would get a receipt in the morning with which they can get married. We need to produce the receipt for a marriage registration certificate,” Bhoomika said. “We have been running from pillar to post to help our friends get married. The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department said there should be no problems with our friends getting married at the temple when we checked with them in person. But the Brahmin priests at the temple would not budge. They kept hiding from us when we asked questions. They returned our Rs 600 and the details we submitted. They told us that, legally, they cannot get married.”

“Had they refused to do it yesterday, we would have made alternate arrangements. But they refused it in the last minute and the auspicious time was nearing for the tying of the knot,” she added. Bhoomika and Aarthi then remembered that Bharani, a trans woman, and a friend, used to work as a priest in the very same temple. They contacted her and she conducted the ritual.

“Having been together for over a year, we got the confidence to marry only after the Section 377 verdict. This refusal was a shock to us because we are both Hindus. Why can’t we get married at a Hindu temple? But thanks to the support of the media, the HRCE Department and the police, we were able to get married. I have been very lucky,” said Sreeja.

“Everyone supported us, that’s why we were able to get married. It would have been better if my parents had also understood that this is the life I want,” Kumar said.

“The marriage registration was also done efficiently. The registrar did not ask us for the temple receipt. We even cut a cake outside the temple and shared the celebrations with the police and the media!” Bhoomika said.

H/T: The Quint