Idol finalist ties the knot!

The girl whose laughter tugged at millions of hearts, has a special reason to smile these days --- she has just got married!

Aditi Paul: 'I am here to stay, marriage or not!'

Remember the girl who laughed and cried in gay abundance with her fellow contestants, the girl who showered praises, made polite requests and above everything else, made people laugh with her on stage. Meet Aditi Paul, now Aditi Mazumdar.

Aditi, arguably the most loved contestant on Indian Idol, got married on 14 March to Suchintyo Mazumdar, a school teacher In Kolkata.

In an interview she gave to Bengali daily Ananda Bazaar Patrika, Aditi said that her husband is very supportive of her singing career and has been a pillar of strength during the contest. "He has always been an inspiration for me," says Aditi.

Denying all rumours, Aditi said that she did not get married because she lost, but her marriage plans had already been drawn up long before she entered the contest.

Aditi has plans of shifting base to Mumbai to pursue her career, but marriage and its ensuing responsibilities may mean a change in plans.

Mini Mathur, who confessed that Aditi was her favourite contestant, says, "The most difficult thing that I have ever done in my life is to get up on the stage and announce Aditi's name as the one who has been voted out."

Most of the people who have come to know her during Indian Idol, tell us that at first glance she seemed to be a bubbly immature girl, but soon you realize that she is very well read and articulate. "She made a classy and dignified exit," says Mini.

But the one thing that really troubled Aditi during the contest was that she was really homesick and missed Bengali food.

'This is your moment, make your dreams come true'

Mini had been providing Bengali meals to her off and on and that probably got her going.

The top eleven contestants of Indian Idol were all invited to the wedding, along with Mini, but they could not make it due to various commitments.

"Aditi's wedding did not come as a surprise to me --- I hope she is happy!" says Rahul Vaidya. A favourite of the group, Aditi had spoken about her fiancé to Priyanka Venkateshwar as well, but she fell ill soon after, and the latter quit ---- "So any discussions on this topic, unfortunately didn't happen," says Priyanka.

But Prajakta Shukre has a very different story to tell. "We used to do our makeup together and I used to tease her about her wedding and she would jokingly tell me not to talk about it. She was a lot of fun. She called me after her marriage and told me that I will not be able to recognize her now," says Prajakta. With a traditional Bengali saree, red bindi, sindoor and mehendi, her look now, is a far cry from the girl who did a jig on stage!

We hope that Aditi has a very happy married life ---- and she pursues her dreams without any hurdles, and above everything else, let her dreams be shared by her husband and may he love her, and her aspirations as well!