700 guests will bless this bovine wedding in Gujarat

Ahmedabad: On Thursday, as the sun sets on Holi celebrations, Ahmedabad's Poonam and Bagadana's Arjun will usher a new dawn in their lives. Poonam and Arjun, a bovine couple, will be joined in holy matrimony by their owners, who have planned a lavish wedding ceremony in Kotiya village in Bagadana.

The wedding is being organised by Parasana Charitable Trust and could possibly be the first-of-its-kind cattle wedding in all of history. The trust has also prepared a wedding invitation for the couple.

The owners are conducting such a lavish ceremony for the wedding of their cattle to show that the value of cows in our society is immeasurable.

"I have been living with cows for the last 30 years and hence, know the amount of love this animal is capable of. I don't mind having a modest wedding for my children, but I will get my daughter Poonam married in the most lavish manner possible," said Vijaybhai, trustee of Parsana Charitable Trust and Poonam's owner. Vijaybhai has also got gold jewellery made for Poonam's wedding.

‘Poonam is like family'
Vijaybhai owns four cows, apart from nine-month old Poonam and has several other pets as well. "When we decided to marry her off like this, people laughed at me. But, I want to set an example and show the world that Poonam is like family to me." For the wedding, the bridal party, consisting of 300 guests will leave for Kotiya village with a three-member wedding orchestra. The wedding will reportedly cost Poonam and Arjun's owners around Rs 18 lakh.

Vijaybhai and Arjun's owner Dehgiri Goswami decided to have the wedding in Kotiya since it is a scenic spot. Brahmin priests will be brought in from Ahmedabad to officiate the wedding and the couple will be married according to proper Hindu rituals. A special havan will also be organised so that Arjun and Poonam usher their offspring soon after getting married. The wedding will have four feasts, which will be enjoyed by over 700 guests.