On Monday morning, the duo made history, becoming the first Sikh couple to register their marriage in Kerala. The couple will have a traditional Punjabi wedding ceremony as well at the Golden Temple in Amritsar later this year.
Everyone at the sub-registrar office was curious to know why the duo wanted to make this ‘Kerala record’.
“My son-in-law works in Australia and my daughter Inderpreet is a Paris-based fashion designer. There is a six-month gap before their wedding in traditional Punjabi style. We decided to register their marriage in Kerala so that my daughter could apply for the ‘spouse visa’. The Indian Marriage Certificate has a higher value than that of many other countries. I’ve been residing in Kochi for a long time. Hence, we thought to register the marriage here itself,” said Surender Singh, who has been living in Kochi with his family for nearly six decades.
While ‘Nimmy’, as Inderpreet is affectionately called, is a successful fashion designer and was even associated with the 2024 Paris Olympics, her spouse is an entrepreneur settled in Australia. Surender is into the automobile spare parts business and owns a shop at Banerji Road.
The registration process took nearly half an hour. Three witnesses signed the document, which was submitted for the approval of Amalgamated Sub Registrar Aby Abraham. There was hardly enough space in the narrow room for relatives as some looked for a gap to witness the couple signing the document. As the official counter-signed, giving his approval, sweets were distributed to everyone.
To a query, Surender said Sikh couples do register their marriages, though the traditional religious wedding ceremony centred around the Guru Granth Sahib (Holy Book) is of much importance for them. Both Mantej and Inderpreet will return to Australia and France, respectively, before coming here again for the traditional marriage.
“Their marriage as per Sikh tradition is fixed on July 6 at the Golden Temple,” Surender told TNIE.