Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], December 4 (ANI): The last rites of veteran Kannada filmmaker-actor Shivaram, who died today at 83, would be performed with full state honours, state Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Saturday.

As more than 40,000 young Tamil Brahmin men are finding it difficult to find brides within the state, the Tamil Nadu based association for Brahmins has launched a special drive to look for suitable matches belonging to the same community in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. “We have launched a special movement on behalf of our […]

Chennai Nov 17 PTI As more than 40000 young Tamil Brahmin men are finding it difficult to find brides within the state the Tamil Nadu based association for Brahmins has launched a special drive to look for suitable matches belonging to the same community in Uttar Pradesh and BiharWe have launched a special movement on behalf of our Sangam said Thamizhnadu Brahmin Association Thambraas president N Narayanan in an open letter published in the associations monthly Tamil magazines November issueQuoting rough estimates Narayanan said more than 40000 Tamil Brahmin men in the age group of 30-40 could not get married as they are unable to find brides from within Tamil NaduGiving a ballpark figure he said if there are 10 Brahmin boys in the marriageable age group only six girls are available in the marriageable age group in Tamil Nadu The association chief in his letter said coordinators would be appointed in Delhi Lucknow and Patna to take forward the initiativeAsked on the move Narayanan said a person who can read write and speak in Hindi would be appointed at the associations headquarters here to perform the coordination roleThe Thambraas chief told PTI that he is in touch with people in Lucknow and Patna adding the initiative is practicable I have commenced work in this regard he saidWhile several Brahmin people welcomed the move there were also other views from within the communityAn educationist M Parameswaran said though enough number of Tamil Brahmin girls are not available in the marriageable age group that is not the one and only reason for boys not being able to find brides He wondered why parents of prospective bridegrooms expect pomp and show in weddingsWhy parents of boys want marriages to be held in swanky marriage halls What stops them from conducting marriage in a simple fashion Why not in a temple or at home he askedThe Mahaperiyava preached simplicity in every walk of life and advised people to not use silk cloth Parameswaran said Mahaperiyava Mahaswami and Paramacharya are reverential references to late Shankaracharya Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi 1894-1994 the 68th pontiff of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam also known as Shankara Math Parameswaran said the girls family has to bear the entire expenditure of conducting the wedding and it is the bane of the Tamil Brahmin communityBig fat weddings have become a status symbol and it is very unfortunate The community must choose progression and reject retrogression he saidEven in this day and age Tamil Brahmin marriages stretch to two to three days which includes the reception and other pre and post wedding ceremonies The total expenditure including jewellery rent for marriage hall spendings on food and gifts would easily work out to at least Rs 12-15 lakh these days he saidUndoubtedly this is a huge economic burden for the brides family While some will be spending their life time savings others will be debt ridden for the rest of their lives Here we are not talking about those who can afford to spend The problem is such wealthy people are setting a benchmark and the society wants it to be emulated even by people who cannot afford it The worst hit are the middle class the lower middle class and poor Brahmins I personally know poor Brahmin families struggling for years to mop up funds for the marriage of their daughters If well to do people are ready to discard their ego they can find brides in Tamil Nadu Only then they can claim to be followers of dharma as enunciated by our sages and scriptures The solution lies in being progressive and marriage ceremonies should be absolutely simple in sync with the times Parameswaran said and pointed out that some customs though do not have express religious sanction are continued that cause practical difficultiesParameswaran has served in educational institutions in southern and western parts of the countryA Ajay a young man on the lookout for a bride said it is now not uncommon to see Tamil-Telugu Brahmin marriages or weddings between Kannada speaking Madhwas and Tamil speaking Smarthas Something like this is unimaginable several decades ago Already we have seen arranged marriages between north Indian and Tamil Brahmins he saidMadhwa Brahmins are a Vaishnavite sect and followers of Sri Madhwacharya Smarthas also known as Iyers in Tamil Nadu accept worship of all deities and are followers of Sri Adi Shankara A Vaishnavite Tamil Brahmin who did not want to be named said years ago even marriages between Thenkalai and Vadakalai sects in the Iyengar community was impossible Today it is happening and this move of the association is welcome PTI VGN ROH ROH