Under normal circumstances, Ohio Hindus would have had to travel halfway around the world to witness the marriage of the gods.
On Sunday evening, Hindus believe, the gods came to them.
And when Lord Vishnu, one of the Hindu Holy Trinity, married his love, Lakshmi, beneath banners of red, purple and gold at a convention center near Easton, more than 2,000 people were there to watch.
“It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Hindus living in central Ohio, Ohio and in neighboring states,” said Ravi Kunduru, who was helping behind the scenes on Sunday.
The deity’s wedding ceremony, called a “kalyanam,” has been performed daily in India for the past 3,100 years “or more,” said Rama Revur, who serves on the board of trustees for the Telugu Association of Central Ohio, the local group that organized Sunday’s celebration.
Priests hold the ceremony at Tirumala, a temple in southern India and one of Hinduism’s holiest sites. That the ceremony has been performed with that regularity is a source of pride for Hindus and power for the temple, Kunduru said.
“Every day for thousands of years, rain, shine, earthquake, the priests have been performing this religious ceremony,” he said.
Witnessing the ceremony is a religious experience, one that reminds Hindus to live their best lives and be their best selves, Revur said.
But, although many Hindus make that journey to Tirumala at some point in their lives — it gets tens of millions of visitors each year — not all have the means, time or visas necessary.
So several years ago, the organization that oversees that temple and others — the Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam — began taking priests and statues of the gods Vishnu and Lakshmi to Hindus around the world. This year, they are performing the ceremony in Dallas, Detroit, Washington, D.C., and Columbus.
Tirumala has hundreds of priests, Revur said. Still, the priests who travel here, along with the statues, represent the gods during the marriage ceremony.
The Telugu Association of Central Ohio rented the Aladdin Shrine Center on StelzerRoad for the affair on Sunday and expected spectators to come from throughout the Midwest.
And in many regards, it was like a traditional American wedding: Before the ceremony began, music played. Children in bright clothes ran around the aisles, dancing and laughing and playing hide-and-seek, while adults talked with their friends.
Once the ceremony began, though, the crowd settled and focused on the stage, where Hindu priests lit a fire and chanted the introductory prayers.
“This is a typical wedding ceremony,” Kunduru said. “Except, we do it for the gods.”