THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Brightly-coloured gift boxes keep pouring into the Mahila Mandiram, where wedding bells are ringing merrily for two of the inmates - Sheeba and Radhika. Several good samaritans, social activists and kind-hearted people are making a beeline to the Mahila Mandiram at Poojappura, much to the delight of the brides-to-be.Faces all lit up, Sheeba and Radhika and their friends were surprised to see the colourful churidars, gold ornaments and utensils tumbling out of the multi-hued gift boxes. They were even seen trying on the new gold earrings gifted by a jewellery house in the city, while their friends waiting outside the warden’s room shared the excitement.“We had never imagined that our marriage will hog the limelight like a celebrity marriage,” says Sheeba. The moment their grooms agreed to marry them still feels like a dream to them.Sheeba, aged 24, will wed Kannur-based Hindu priest Anand Namboothiri, while Radhika will marry Shiju Vijayan, a gas agency driver from Chavara, near Kollam. The ‘muhurtham’ is between 9.55 am and 10.30 am on Wednesday.Both Sheeba and Radhika will not only share the same wedding date, but also the same wedding hall at the Children’s Home. Just two more days to go and the inmates of Mahila Mandiram are an excited lot. It is after two long years that a wedding is happening at the shelter home, the last one being that of Pooja, who was married off to Nedumangad.The inmates at the Mahila Mandiram, meanwhile, are busy making two necklaces of tiny beads these days. These colourful pieces of jewellery are going to be surprise gifts for Sheeba and Radhika. “I am very happy that Sheeba and Radhika are getting married, but we will miss them after their marriage. Radhika is a maestro in making frocks,’’ remarks Reshma, while sewing a small frock carefully.Sheeba’s sister Suma is in the Mahila Mandir with her sister. She is very happy and helps Sheeba in the preparation for marriage. “Since the marriage date was fixed, Sheeba and Radhika have not stopped smiling. But they are a little bit tensed about starting a new life in another home,” another inmate of the Mahila Mandir, Kartika, says."It will be a full-fledged ceremony as they are like our daughters. Many people and organisations are taking interest and helping out for the marriages. Rotary Club, Josco Jewellers, Malabar Gold, Jayalakshmi Silks, Infotech at Technopark, Great India Estates Private Limited, B Sivankutty MLA’s wife Parvathy, cine artist Kollam Tulasi, Mayor K Chandrika, social worker Nandini and many others are here to join hands during this occasion,’’ says Mahila Mandiram superintendent Suma Devi, who is arranging the marriage like their mother. She has been busy inviting people for the last couple of weeks, trying her best not to leave out anyone.
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