Their love is Indian: Swedish couple ties knot the Hindu way in Varanasi

There was a band and a baraat but this wedding had a Swedish note.

There was a band and a baraat but this wedding had a Swedish note. Niklas Aaronson and Tilda Henriksson wed Hindu style and with chanting of Vedic mantras in Varanasi on Thursday, celebrating their love for Indian culture and the temple city.

Niklas Aaronson (L) and Tilda Henriksson during their wedding at Panchratna Shiva Temple in Varanasi on Thursday. (Adarsh Gupta/ HT Photo)

Clad in traditional Indian attire, Aaronson rode a horse during the ‘Barat’ which started from a guesthouse in the Assi Ghat area and reached the Panchratna Shiva Temple at Assi Ghat. With mehendi applied on her hands, bride Henriksson clad in a Banarsi sari and jewellery looked beautiful.

Speaking to HT, he said, “We got engaged this summer. Since both of us like Varanasi, its ghats and Indian culture, we decided to come here for our wedding. Getting into wedlock in this spiritual city on the banks of the holy Ganga is a memorable experience.”

Aaronson is a teacher at upper secondary school in Sweden. Henriksson will soon join a school as teacher as soon as she finishes her teachers’ training course from Karlstad University.

An equally elated Henriksson said Varanasi was a special place where she found peace and tranquillity. She likes sitting on ghats and boating as well. “Marrying here is a special experience. I like Kashi and Indian culture too,” she added. Priests at the temple including Acharya Vijay Kumar Mishra performed puja during which Aaronson and Henriksson exchanged garlands and took ‘pheras’.

Swedes Amanda Bronstad, Niklas Kinell and Maria Vestman, besides Keith Paulson from Denmark, attended the wedding. Bronstand, a friend of the bride, said, “We studied together. She likes Indian culture very much therefore decided to have a Hindu style wedding.”

The wedding party danced to the drumbeats during the ‘barat’. Some local guests also attended the wedding.