Sambhal (UP), February 15 Tamanna Malik, a Muslim woman, was welcomed with chants of "Har Har Mahadev" when she returned home here from a 170-km pilgrimage to Haridwar, carrying the holy water (gangajal), fulfilling a vow she had made more than three years ago.
On Sunday, during Mahashivratri, Malik, dressed in a burqa, offered the water from the Ganga to Lord Shiva at the Kshem Nath Temple in Sambhal.
The native of Badanpur Basai village, Malik, had married Aman Tyagi, a Hindu from the same village, three and a half years ago. The couple has two sons, Aryan and Daksh, aged two and one.
Earlier, facing interfaith challenges, Malik had vowed to perform "jalabhishek" if she married Tyagi.
The couple eloped from the village and got married a year ago.
"My husband has fully supported me, and people welcomed me with flowers in many places. People of Sanatan Dharma welcomed us in many places, and those who are protesting are ignorant. Why should we pay any attention to them!" Malik told reporters in Sambhal.
On her choice of clothing, she said, "I used to wear a burqa earlier too, why does anyone have a problem with that?"
Malik had left for Haridwar with her husband on February 10 and returned to her village the next day.
"We both brought the kanwar from Haridwar. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, and Sanatani people have greatly helped us throughout the pilgrimage. Many people from Amroha and Noorpur also walked with us," Tyagi, a Hindu, said.