Mahakumbh Mela 2025: ‘Magical Beyond Words’: Greek Woman Marries Indian Man AT Maha Kumbh

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At the ongoing Mahakumbh Mela in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, on Sunday, Penelope, a Greek woman, wed Siddharth, an Indian guy. Instead of treating weddings as a chance to “party and drink,” the couple claimed that they decided to marry in a religious congregation because it was a more “divine and spiritual” way to do it.

Swami Yatindranand Giri, Mahamandaleshwar of the Juna Akhara, performed the “kanyadaan” ritual with the bride’s mother and other family members.

The seer said that the woman had adopted the traditions of ‘Sanatan Dharma’ few years back and is a devotee of Lord Shiva. “Siddharth is also our devotee, he has gone to various countries to spread yoga and serve Sanatan, so today, keeping in mind the traditions, doing the ‘agni phere,’ (circling the fire) it was done,” news agency ANI quoted him as saying.

“It was very nice to see a different perspective, a spiritual way,” the woman added, expressing her satisfaction at having decided to marry in India during the festival.

Penelope said she was thrilled to be adopting a new culture and called her experience “magical beyond words.”

Since I was the bride today and had never been to an Indian wedding before, everything was both new and familiar to me. There was a ceremony, and I got married in a more spiritual manner,” she continued.

According to Siddharth, they choose Prayagraj because of its “divine nature” and desired to get married in the “most authentic manner.”

“We know that right now, this is probably the best place in the world, not just in the country, where all forms of divinity, pilgrimages, and everything else are present,” he remarked.

The couple stated that they will take a holy dip on January 29 and had agreed to stay until the end of the Mahakumbh mela. “I am looking for that opportunity and I am very glad that I am here, and my mother too,” Penelope remarked. “Of course, I wouldn’t miss that, I already had the opportunity, we have been here since the beginning, and we plan to stay until everything is done.”