Shashi Tharoor marries Sunanda Pushkar

Former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor and Sunanda Pushkar tied the knot in a traditional Kerala style wedding ceremony at Mr. Tharoor's ancestral house at Elavanchery in Palakkad district on Sunday morning.

The simple ceremony was attended only by close relatives of the bride and bridegroom.

Mr. Tharoor and Ms. Pushkar were dressed in traditional Kerala attire and the ceremony was over in ten minutes.

After tying the knot, the newlyweds were blessed by Mr. Tharoor's grandmother Jayasankari, mother Lilly Chandran Tharoor, uncles Narayanan Unni and Mukundan Unni, and Ms. Pushkar's father Colonel Pushkarnath Das.

The marriage was also attended by Siva, Ms. Pushkar's son from her earlier marriage, and Mr. Tharoor's sons from his first marriage, Ishaan and Kanishk.

This is the third marriage for both Mr. Tharoor and Ms. Pushkar.

Though the ceremony was strictly a family affair, it was attended by close associates of Mr. Tharoor, including former Union Minister Mani Sankar Iyer, former Indian Ambassador T.P. Sreenivasan, and film actor T.P. Madhavan.

After the marriage, the couple participated in another traditional function in the family — Niraputheri — connected with the first harvest of paddy.

Visit Guruvayur

Thrissur Staff Reporter writes:

Mr. Tharoor and Ms. Pushkar flew by helicopter from Palakkad to visit the Guruvayur Sreekrishna Temple after the ceremony.

The newlyweds spent some time at the Guruvayur Devaswom's Sreevalsam Guest House and then visited the temple around 4.30 p.m, accompanied by relatives and friends.

They spent about half an hour at the temple, where Melsanthi Unnikrishnan Namboodiri offered them prasadam.

The couple later proceeded to Thiruvananthapuram, where their wedding reception will be held in on Monday.

Mr. Tharoor said he and his wife would celebrate Onam with the inmates of the Sree Chitra Poor Home.