When bull calf becomes a groom...

Parchur (Prakasam): It was a different wedding on Sriramanavami day. A heifer entered into wedlock with bull calf at a well attended religious ceremony. The venue--Sitaramanjaneya Devasthanam at Karamchedu in Parchur constituency of Prakasam district--was decorated colourfully to make the event memorable.

The marriage began with welcome ceremony. Bride (heifer) Gomatiswari Devi was taken out in a procession from the residence of Union Minister Purandeswari and Parchur MLA Daggubati Venkateswara Rao. Groom (bull calf) Amboteswara Rao was also paraded in the streets before being taken to the temple. The two animals were summoned for the marriage as the devotees watched the ceremony with utmost curiosity.

The animal couple was decorated with traditional cumin seeds-jaggery combination to suit the occasion. Maangalyadhaarana (tying the knot) followed amid chanting of Vedic hymns. A As the Union Minister was on foreign tour, her husband Daggubati Venkateswara Rao and daughter Nivedita monitored the arrangements for the holy wedding.

Speaking on the occasion, the MLA said that the kalyanam was conducted for the world peace and self-sufficiency of the nation. Ongole breed heifer and bull calf were picked up for the wedding to save the animal facing extinction, he said.A The chief priest of temple said that the heifer-bull calf wedding was conducted after a gap of 40 years.