OAS toppers get hitched in low-key ceremony

Two Odisha Administrative Services (OAS) exam toppers of the 2020 batch got hitched by exchanging garlands at the sub-registrar’s office in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday. The marriage of OAS officers Ananya Shrusti Satpathy and Debrabrata Kar was far from the usual glittering weddings.
 
The family members and relatives of both the OAS officers were present. Through the simple marriage, the OAS couple sent a message that marriage ceremonies need not be a lavish affair.

They choose to mark their marriage in a different way. They celebrated their marriage with orphan children. They organised a feast for the children.

In 2020, Ananya Shrusti Satpathy was ranked third in the OAS examination, while Debrabrata Kar secured fourth rank.

Asked why he preferred a simple marriage to a lavish one, Debabrata Kar said, "Traditional marriages in the past were not expensive. In the course of time, commercial interests affected everything under the impact of capitalism. Weddings became an affair of glitz and glamour. Sadly, lavish weddings made things difficult for many families having girl children.”

He added that this simple marriage can send a message that weddings can be inexpensive and there is no need for costly decorations and heavy spending.

Anaya said, “I never wanted a marriage that would make our families go through mental agonies. The important message of this marriage is to get the love and blessings of families and relatives. There is no need to make the marriage grandiose.”

She also said that nowadays, after the birth of a girl child, a family starts fretting about her marriage. The mindset has become such that families start investing more in her marriage than her education. After seeing this simple marriage, my siblings and relatives will think of simple weddings rather than expensive ones,” she observed.