KAITHAL, March 24: The mandha ceremony of the `bridegroom' was attended by no less than 30,000 guests, all of whom were served lunch. With a garland round his neck and a kangna tied to his feet, the `groom' sat on a cemented platform covered with a carpet. Some of the guests attending the marriage ceremony on Sunday sang marriage ditties and offered shagun.There is nothing extraordinary about the whole narrative, except for the fact that the `bridegroom' in this case happened to be a dog. The ceremony was organised at Dera Baba Ram Nath in Karora village, about 30 km from here, by one Mahant Khushi Nath. The story behind this unique wedding, as in all `historic romances', is quite gripping. Apparently, sometime back, the Mahant had brought a dog and a bitch to the dera. The bitch, unfortunately, left for her heavenly abode a little while later, leaving the dog-named Kapur sad and sullen. The Mahant felt sorry for the heart-broken Kapur.
A few weeks after the bitch's death, MahantKhushi Nath happened to meet Mahant Trilok Nath of Sanchla Dhani village in Fatehbad district, at Hardwar, and ended up narrating Kapur's (and his own) tale of woe to him. Mahant Trilok Nath said he had a bitch with him and that he saw no reason why the two could not be made to tie the knot. However, there was a condition before the marriage could be solemnised: The wedding should be held with all pomp and show. Mahant Khushi Nath readily accepted the proposal.
As Mahant Khushi Nath is a highly revered figure in Karora village and adjoining areas, the villagers were only too ready to help him conduct his dog's marriage in style. In fact, his clout is so much that people believe that it is his blessings which protect the village from all kinds of calamities. ``No one begins any work without first making some offer to the Mahant and seeking his blessings,'' says Ramesh, a resident of Karora. If a cow breeds, the owner would donate the milk of the animal to the Mahant for 15 days, before he and his familystart consuming it, Ramesh added. So it was not surprising that when this correspondent visited the dera on Sunday, a huge crowd had already assembled there for the mandha ceremony. Men, women and children were seen offering shagun to the Mahant and touching his feet.
Interestingly, some villagers even made it a point to touch Kapur's feet and place the shagun amount in front of him. More than a dozen Mahants of other deras were among the guests. The Mahants as well as other guests were performing ceremonies as if they had come to attend the marriage of a fellow human being. Incidentally, a video film was also being made of the whole marriage ceremony. A cameraman was also busy taking photographs. There was hardly a resident of Karora -- and the village has a population of about 25,000 -- who did not attend the ceremony. A large number of residents of nearby villages like Kuker Kera, Pai, Bhana and Sudha also thronged the dera. A band was also engagedfor the occasion. Some cars were seen parked near the dera which were scheduled to take the groom and the baratis to Sanchla Dhani village.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
