Namakkal :

The three-month long ordeal of an Indo-Belgian couple came to end with their marriage getting duly registered with the Registration Department of the state government.

Their joy had no bounds when R Suresh, a tribesman hailing from Kolli hills and Sarah, his Belgian lover, tied the holy knot at a function held atop the hills on August 17 this year.

However, the excitement and ecstasy of the couple and their respective family members waned when the newly-wed tried to get their marriage the legal stamp.

“Initially, the Registration Department officials turned us away citing lack of credible documents to validate our marriage. So we approached the Namakkal Collector, who directed us to submit the application with Sub-Registrar’s office in Senthamangalam”, Suresh recalled.

But the hassles did not stop there. It had just began as the authorities there raised the jurisdiction issue after sitting upon the application for weeks.

The life after marriage of the couple, who fell in love while employed in a cruise ship, did not drift along the current as they had to run from pillar to post.

Finally, it was found out that the couple had to submit the application with SR office in Namagiripet. The entire process had to be initiated from the beginning once again. In the mean time, Sarah, who came on a tourist visa, had to return leaving her husband here. The ship seemed to run aground but the man held his nerve to fight all odds. The officials began to ask for document after document to endorse the marriage giving sleepless nights to the 28-year-old Suresh.

“At last, our marriage was registered under the Special Marriages Act on November 9 and the registration certificate was handed to me ten days later”, he said. The couple nurtures hopes of settling down in India in the future.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by R. Sivakumar / November 23rd, 2015