Katrina, Deepika married off for a ‘scientific’ cause
PANTWARI (TEHRI) Meet Katrina, Priyanka and Deepika, who ‘chose’ their bridegroom at a swayamwar. No, it wasn’t the Bollywood stars but their namesake goats that got married at a unique ‘Bakri Ka Swayamwar’ attended by 1,000 people at Pantwari village in Tehri Garhwal, 100 km from Dehradun, on Friday.
Amid Vedic chants and hymns, Katrina ‘married’ Chandu, Deepika hitched with Tukun and Priyanka with Beasaku. From ‘mangal snan’ (auspicious bath) to decorating the goats, every ritual was performed like any other Hindu wedding.
The Green People (a community that runs home stays in Uttarkashi and Mussoorie) and villagers held the event to spread awareness on scientific advancements in livestock rearing. “The gene pool of these goats has to improve for boosting quality and quantity of milk. Crossbreeding has taken a toll on its gene pool. The goats don’t give enough milk and are sold off for meat,” Animal Husbandry department director Avinash Anand told HT.
The animal husbandry department supported the swayamwar at the village, and feels the initiative will ensure improved breeding of goats with higher milk yield.
“It is for the first time any priest is conducting such a wedding. I am fortunate to have participated in the event,” priest Dinesh Prasad said.
Goat rearing is diminishing in Uttarakhand. “There was no one to guide us how to maintain gene pool of goats. So, we crossbred owing to which the quality of offspring degraded. We now have people to guide us and will again take up goat rearing,” Sumo Devi, 70, said.
One group played traditional musical instruments Dhol and Damau adding to the fervour of the ‘wedding’. Over 200 women and men staged the traditional Jaunpuri dance and sang on the beats of Dhol.