VARANASI: Bollywood stars Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai kept rumours of their impending marriage alive on November 27 by performing rituals done only by married couples in two major temples of the city.

The couple arrived in the city late on Sunday and went from one temple to another to perform the rituals in the dead of night.

A local journalist, who sneaked into the heavily guarded Kashi Vishwanath temple in the guise of a priest, witnessed the rituals that began at around 3:00 am and continued till nearly 6:00 am. Two rituals were performed at the temple and one at the Sankat Mochan Hanuman temple nearby.

“The rudrabhishek puja performed by the duo in the presence of the entire Bachchan family is usually done by married couples only,” said a temple priest who did not wish to be identified.

Family priest Chandramouli Upadhyaya, who was the first to call on the Bachchan family at the Taj Ganges hotel shortly after their arrival, told media persons: “The family was here to perform certain prayers on the birth anniversary of Amitabh’s father, famous Hindi poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan.”

However, when scribes sought to know what Aishwarya had to do with such a closed family affair, he said: “I don’t know.”

Besides Amitabh, his wife Jaya, daughter Shweta, brother Ajitabh and niece Namrata were amongst those who joined in the prayers. Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh, who had arrived with the entourage, was present as well.