americanbrahmin

I never cease to be amused by the absurdity of my native culture. I guess nothing beats perpetual paganism in terms of the sheer ridiculousness and variety of "religious rituals". Apparently, Aishwarya Rai (a famous Bollywood actress) married a peepal tree in Varanasi, a banana tree in Bangalore and a god's idol in Ayodhya. What causes a modern, intelligent woman to marry not one but two trees?! Apparently it is being a "manglik" or having Mars in certain places on your astrological chart. When I sought out any type of rational explanation, I saw this in Wikipedia:

"Mangal Dosha is an astrological condition that occurs if Mars is in the 2nd, 4th, 7th, 8th, or 12th house of the Vedic astrology lunar chart. A person born in the presence of this condition is termed a manglik. This condition is believed by some to be devastating for marriage, causing discomfort and tension in relationship, leading to seperation and divorce, and in some cases, it is believed to cause untimely death of one spouse. This is attributed to the "fiery" nature of this planet. "

Of course, when two manglik's marry they cancel each other's bad effects out, much like two negative numbers being multiplied creating a positive condition.

"If two mangliks marry, the negative effects are believed to cancel each other out. The term manglik is a search criteria on some Indian and UAE dating and matrimonial websites."

It also goes on to tell you the recommended remedy for such a horrible condition :).

"There is also a belief that the negative consequences for a single-manglik marriage can be resolved if the manglik first performs a ceremony called a kumbh vivah, in which the manglik "marries" a banana tree, a peepal tree, or an icon of Vishnu.^[1]"

I guess just to be on the safe-side Ash decided to do all three!
Seriously, you've gotta give them points for creativity.