No memory of their childhood marriage, they tie the knot again on 75th anniversary
When Chetan Gehlot, 86, and Kamla Devi, 82, began planning their 75th wedding anniversary celebrations, their grandchildren fondly asked them how they had married.
The Bikaner elderly couple failed to recollect memories of their wedding because they were kids when they were married in 1943; Gehlot was 11 and Devi 7.
“We have completed 75 years of togetherness, but there are no memories of the wedding, so our grandchildren suggested we get married – again – with all the rituals,” said Gehlot, who retired 24 years ago from the department of information and public relations.
On Thursday, Gehlot dressed up like a groom and rode a horse to a wedding garden, and Devi, dressed like a demure bride, waited for the rituals to begin. Their nine grandchildren danced in glory in the wedding procession.
“My wife was initially not on board with the decision but our grandchildren coaxed her into agreement,” Gehlot added.
Their children reached out to their maternal grandparents and convinced them to perform the rituals of the bride’s family.
The wedding procession passed through the streets of Bikaner to everyone’s bemusement. All the details of the wedding were planned according to rituals by the couple’s grandchildren. “It was amazing to see them marry again. Generally we see people giving blessings to the couple, but here mostly the guests were younger than the bridegroom, so they were touching their feet seeking blessings,” said Bhumika, a granddaughter.
The family of bride Kamla Devi appreciated the idea and organised all the ceremonies at their side. Friends and relatives of the bride and the groom expressed their happiness over the ceremony. Prominent people and political leaders attended the wedding to bless the couple.
The Gehlots are a big family: the couple has three sons and a daughter, four grandsons, seven granddaughters, three great grandsons and five great granddaughters.
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