Blogger Kshama Bindu branded as attention seeker after announcing her plan to marry herself
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24-year-old Kshama Bindu is set to marry herself in a traditional Hindu ceremony – although experts in Indian law aren't sure if wedding will be entirely legal
A glam 24-year-old Instagram influencer has been targeted by trolls after she announced she was getting married – to herself.
Blogger Kshama Bindu is looking forward to her wedding on the evening of 11 June in a temple in the Indian city of Vadodara.
Wearing a red bridal outfit, with henna painted on her hands and "sindoor,' or vermilion powder, in the parting of her hair, she will walk around a ceremonial fire seven times, as tradition requires.
The 24-year-old sociology student and “digital creator” from Gujarat, India, plan to marry herself in a “deep act of self-acceptance”.
”I realised that I don't require a prince charming because I am my own queen,” Kshama told Indian news channel NDTV.
“That is why I have decided to marry myself on June 11. I will dress up like a bride, take part in rituals, my friends will attend my wedding and then I will come back to my house instead of going with the groom”.
After the ceremony, she has a luxury two-week solo honeymoon on Goa planned.
"Many people tell me I'm a great catch," she says. "I tell them, 'I caught myself'."
Kshama told the BBC: "Self-marriage is a commitment to being there for yourself, to choosing the livelihood and lifestyle that will help you grow and blossom into the most alive, beautiful, and deeply happy person you can be”.
But not everyone’s convinced that Kshama’s “sologamy” is so much a bold new kind of relationship so much as a bid for attention.
Twitter user Rishi Markandey commented “You can live with yourself without marrying yourself. You are just an attention seeker, & you played well”.
Anu commented “Looks like a publicity stunt” while Parkar Usama added: “every day this world gets a little more stupider…”
Indian law experts say the unconventional marriage may not stand up to legal scrutiny.
Krishnakant Vakharia, a lawyer at India's High Court, told the Daily Mail that in law, it takes two people to make a marriage - and that “sologamy” would not be recognised as legitimate.