The tale, set in the forests of northwestern India, had all the ingredients of a perfect Bollywood love story: emotion, celebration, star-crossed lovers and a nail-biting climax.
The only difference was that the lovers were monkeys, taking part in India’s first simian wedding — with the whole unfolding drama a classic clash between age-old village belief and the demands of modern life skeptical of that way of thought. Hindu belief includes worship of animals as avatars of the gods.
So when plans for the wedding of “Raju” and “Chinki” were laid in the small village of Talwas, deep in the forests of Rajasthan, villagers responded with excitement.
Hundreds of invitation cards were sent out to nearby villages for the wedding and a huge pre-wedding feast was planned, along with a procession with Raju on a horse. But no good love story is complete without a little hiccup.
As news of the marriage spread, the state forest department officials stepped into action. Since monkeys are protected in India as government property, no one can pet them, train them or — as in this case — marry them, even to a fellow monkey. Tensions rose in both villages after officials issued their final warning.
The monkeys and their owners went into hiding. On the day of the planned wedding, more than 200 guards poured into Talwas, where they confronted hundreds of people from nearby villages who had arrived to see the rare spectacle. But then came the news — the monkey couple had been secretly married off in a ceremony somewhere deep in the forest. Forestry officials immediately set out to look for the pair. Both monkeys were captured and officials said they hope to release them soon in nearby forests.
Bandar ka Tamasha at its best!
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