Mansi Khandelwal
JWB Blogger
Married In Pakistan, Padmini Kanota Opens Up To JWB How Much She Is Missing Diwali In Jaipur
- JWB Post
- October 30, 2016
Every year the urge to find a suitable match for their kin brings members of Sodha community from Pakistan to India. Wondering why does this cross-border alliance happen?
Well, according to Sodha traditions, those belonging to this clan cannot marry within their own community. Since Pakistan’s Rajputs are mostly Sodhas, they have no choice but to marry people from India.
Now, what is really daunting about this cross-border union is that these Rajputs from both sides of the border get only the one-month visa to marry their kin.
After reading up the tweets posted by Padmini Kanota, who was married to Karni Singh Sodha in Amarkot in February last year, we got in touch with her.
@SushmaSwaraj Ji can a new long term visa law be made for the Indian girls married in Pakistan.Indian origin card may be
— Padmini kumari (@padminikumari)
@KumariRukshmani @jameelsjam @womenofjaipur @padminikumari It's up to the HomeMinistry but normally they should be eligible for an OCI card
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor)
Padmini told us, “The problem is not of visas but of the duration of the visa. One month is too less a time for any family to find a suitable match for their child. Also, like every other nation, I want girls who are married in Pakistan to get an Indian origin card so that they can go home easily.”
We got to know that she and her husband were trying hard to get the visas issued so that they could be a part of Padmini’s brother’s wedding next month.
On the eve of Diwali, we caught up with her to make her feel home.
Me: How do you celebrate Diwali cross-border?
Padmini: People in Pakistan celebrate Diwali too. They light diyas, paint rangolis and burst crackers of course, but it’s not even close to how we celebrate in India. That whole sense of festivity in the air, I badly miss. Every festival I miss home…
Karni Singh Sodha and his wife Padmini Rathore pose for a photo after the wedding
Me: Tell us about your life in Pakistan.
Padmini: Everything in Pakistan and the family I’m married in is very different from the life I had in India. I come from Kanota Thikana, and my father and brother are into a hotel business. My in-laws in Amarkot are a state political family. Life and traditions here are much stricter than what were back home. I was much free before compared to what I am now.
Me: Is there any tradition you want to introduce in your family from this Diwali onwards?
Padmini: This Diwali, I am planning to distribute food in our village and I hope to continue it every year.
Karni Singh Sodha and his wife Padmini Rathore pose for a photo after the wedding
Me: Your Diwali message to Jaipur and people back home?
Padmini: I wish this Diwali brightens everyone’s life. Since I never enjoyed bursting crackers, I would say please have a safe and pollution-free Diwali. I miss you all!
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