An Indian couple from Gurugram (on the Delhi-Haryana border) wed their pet dog to their neighbor’s dog in a festive traditional wedding last week.
According to the owners,100 invitation cards were sent in their neighborhood of Jile Singh Colony in Palam Vihar Extension in Haryana. The baraatis attended it in droves and celebrated with dhols and dance.
The groom, Sheru, and bride, Sweety, were dolled up for the complete Indian-style wedding and were even made to perform the customary saat pheray.
Sweety’s human mother, Savita, said,
I am a pet lover and as a couple, we used to take care of pets. I don’t have a child so Sweety is our kid.
She added, “My husband used to go to the temple and feed animals. One day, a stray dog followed him and came to us three years ago. We named her Sweety”.
Her husband, Raja, who is a local chai wala (tea seller), was overwhelmed with emotions and said, “I used to visit the temple and since we don’t have a child then we used to take care of the pets”.
He continued,
Sweety has been part of our lives for the last three years and she is like my daughter. For preparation, we have bought the utensils and sarees which we do for usual wedding preparation. I will feel bad as a father because for three years I have nurtured her as a guardian.
Savita explained the basis of the off-the-wall idea.
Everyone used to say that we should get Sweety married. We discussed it and then eventually a program was made in just four days. We decided to follow all rituals.
She mentioned that she went all out for the wedding and even had the haldi ceremony for the dogs.
Sheru’s human mother, Manita, is Savita and Raja’s neighbor. She detailed how the unusual event took place and said, “We have been together with Sheru for the last eight years. We have always treated him like our child. We casually discussed the marriage of our dogs with our neighbors and then we suddenly got serious about it”.
She emphasized that he and Savita were serious about the marriage and prepared for it just like any typical Indian wedding, replete with all the rituals.
“We invited around 100 people. We printed 25 cards and the rest was an online invitation,” Manita disclosed.
“Some people like it and some don’t,” Manita remarked and added, “we are not concerned at all; we just did what we desired”.
In a world where the bride and groom give each other snake garlands and wedding guests kill each other for rasgullas, a pet wedding is a sweet sentiment. What do you think? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
