Aishwarya Rai

With Bollywood actors Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan set to tie the knot, the actress’s mother Vrinda Rai has performed a special puja at Nagabana in Sonthady near Kasargod, her birthplace.

The puja performed on Thursday morning by Vrinda in keeping with the traditions of Tulunadu culture is an annual affair, a close relative of Aishwarya told the press on condition of anonymity. All the members of the family, except for Aishwarya, took part in the puja to ‘moola nagadevata bana’ near the family home at Sonthady, the relative said.

Later Aishwarya’s parents Vrinda and Krishnaraj Rai visited Dharmasthala to seek blessings of Lord Manjunatha. The Rai’s were accompanied to Dharmasthala on Friday 19 Jan 2007, by close relatives including the three sisters of Krishnaraj. They met Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Dr Veerendra Heggade.

“The marriage is likely to be held according to the North indian traditions” sources quoted Vrinda saying. When a section of the media present at the spot tried to question them regarding the Bollywood’s most talked about marriage, Mr Rai said that “wedding is a personal and family affair and we do not like to speak about this issue with media”.

it is learnt through family sources that, the Rai’s were disappointed with the rumors in the media circles that Abhishek will be Ghar Jamai of the Rai family according to the family customs.

Abhishek and Aishwarya got engaged at a quiet ceremony in Mumbai on January 14.

The engagement came about one-and-a-half-months after the couple, accompanied by Amitabh Bachchan and his wife Jaya, offered prayers at the Varanasi temple.

All eyes turned to Bangalore when Aishwarya’s family astrologer Chandrashekhara Swami, based in Mulky, was consulted on the alliance as Rai had ‘kuja dosha’.