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📰 Indian-American gay couples find new forms of union amid stigma(恥辱)
🀄 同性戀在印度社會是丟臉的事，印裔美國同志伴侶在當中尋求新的結合方式
When Sameer Samudra and Amit Gokhale decided to marry according to Hindu custom, the couple faced an unexpected(意想不到的) hiccup(麻煩): they couldn't find a priest(神父) to do the ceremony.
📌 當 Sameer Samudra 和 Amit Gokhale 決定按照印度教習俗結婚時，這對新人遇到了意想不到的麻煩：他們找不到牧師來主持婚禮。
"We wanted a Hindu wedding, but so many pandits (印度教士) [priests] said no. I was agonized(極痛苦的) when one of them quoted(報價) an exorbitant(過高的) amount(金額) just because I am gay!" said Sameer, who lives in North Carolina.
📌 “我們想要一場印度教婚禮，但有很多教士 [牧師] 說不。當他們中的一個人僅僅因為我是同性戀而提出過高金額時，我感到非常痛苦！” 住在北卡羅來納州的薩米爾說。
Unwilling to have "the energy of a reluctant(不情願的) priest" at their wedding, the couple improvised(即興發揮).
"One of our friends learnt the basics of being a priest and we chose Hindu rituals(儀式) that made sense for a same-sex wedding," Sameer said.
📌 這對新人不願意在他們的婚禮上擁有“不情願的神父的能量”，他們即興發揮。
“我們的一個朋友學習了成為牧師的基本知識，我們選擇了對同性婚禮有道理的印度教儀式，”薩米爾說。
So many Indian-American couples dream of a big fat Bollywood-style wedding, complete with traditional rituals. But that's easier said than done for gay couples - even in the US where same-sex unions were legalized(合法化) in 2015.
📌 很多的印度裔美國夫婦都夢想著舉行一場盛大的寶萊塢式婚禮，並配有傳統儀式，但對於同性戀伴侶來說，說起來容易，做起來難——即使在 2015 年同性結合合法化的美國也是如此。
More than 300,000 gay couples have wed in the country since then. But Indian-Americans say that they are often ostracized(排斥) by those who have the holy(神聖的) task of solemnizing(隆重慶祝) their unions.
📌 從那時起，該國已有超過 300,000 對同性戀伴侶結婚，但印度裔美國人說，他們經常被那些肩負著舉行結合儀式的神聖任務的人排斥。
Temples refusing to host same-sex weddings, priests hanging up on their phone calls or unwilling to tweak(稍稍調整) the ceremony to suit them and, in some cases, not even showing up on the day of the wedding - these experiences have driven Indian-American gay couples to fall back on friends and well-wishers to create unique ceremonies rooted in their culture.
📌 寺廟拒絕舉辦同性婚禮、神父掛斷電話或稍稍調整儀式以適應他們，在某些情況下，甚至在婚禮當天都不露面——這些經歷推動了這些新人依靠的朋友和祝福者，創造植根於他們文化的獨特儀式。
Sapna Pandya, for instance, became a priest herself although female priests are virtually(實際上) unheard of in Hinduism.
📌 例如，Sapna Pandya 自己成為了一名神父，儘管在印度教中幾乎聞所未聞的女神父。
She did it because of the opposition she and her Pakistani(巴基斯坦的) Muslim wife, Seher, faced when they wanted to get married the traditional way.
📌 她這樣做，是因為她和她的巴基斯坦穆斯林妻子 Seher，在想以傳統方式結婚時面臨反對。
"I didn't feel comfortable going to the temple to see a priest. My wife didn't feel comfortable going to the mosque(清真寺) and asking an imam(伊斯蘭領袖尊稱). So, we wrote our own ceremony," Sapna said.
They chose Hindu mantras(真言) and verses from the Koran(古蘭經) that symbolized companionship.
📌 “我不喜歡去寺廟找一位神父。我的妻子不喜歡去清真寺問伊瑪目，所以，我們編寫了自己的儀式。”Sapna 說。他們選擇了象徵伴侣關係的印度教真言和古蘭經中的經文。
資料來源: https://reurl.cc/4aERyj
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