Meet the cliffhangers in love

Seventh heaven is where one is transported when hopelessly twitterpated. But Kolhapur-based Jaydeep Jadhav and his wife Reshma, from Padali Khurd, are easily the hottest newly-weds after their choosing to be pronounced man and wife, while hanging mid-air over the 250-ft deep Jakhnai Kada near Kolhapur, went viral.
“We never imagined our wedding would go viral,” quip Jaydeep, 30, a pharma marketer and Reshma, 26, an IAS aspirant.It was Jaydeep, an avid mountaineer, who wanted to take the idea of tying the knot to the next level (quite literally); something he had in mind for the past 17 years! “When I embarked on my first Panhala-Pawankhind trek back then, the surrealism of the place floored me. That’s when I decided that my wedding, a key milestone in life, would happen only here, come what may,” he shared.
While Jaydeep was all agog about the adventurous nuptial, it took a bit of convincing for Reshma, a first-timer to such sports, to agree to the proposition. “Ours is an arranged match, and considering Reshma has known me only for a while now, it was very brave of her to agree to take the plunge with me. Two days after I popped this new proposition, she agreed,” adds Jaydeep. He recalls how his and Reshma’s family initially thought he was off his rocker when he proposed the idea of getting married with his head in the clouds. It wasn’t before long that they agreed too.
July 31, the wedding day, finally dawned and couple, clad in traditional Maharashtrian wedding attire, eased on to ‘marriage venue’ close to the muhurat time, strapped onto tough double-nylon fibre ropes, with the couple’s family, relatives and friends, including a host of curious ‘gatecrashers’, ready to watch the proceedings from across the valley. The couple was joined by Suraj Dholi, their flying purohit who would bless the nuptials, who incidentally was also a seasoned mountaineer.
“The total process lasted around 40 minutes. Except the saat pheras, all the rituals including the mangalashtak, varmala and tying of the mangalsutra were performed,” shares Jaydeep, adding that onlookers were able to follow the proceedings via a cordless system. “It was an ethereal feeling for both of us, something we can’t put into words,” say the couple.
After alighting, the couple sought the blessings of their elders, visited the local temple for a darshan and enjoyed their reception with traditional Maharashtrian fare. “We’ve taken enough of videos and pictures and look forward to showing them to our children, telling them how their mum and dad got married,” laughs Jaydeep, signing off.