Monday, Mar 19, 2007
Indian Couple Hosts Beggars at Wedding
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In a sharp contrast to the splashy displays that mark most Indian marriages, a man invited nearly 190 beggars to bless his son and daughter-in-law at their wedding and gave them a feast.
 A passersby walks past beggars in a street of New Delhi
© AFP/File Christophe Archambault"It's a tradition in our family to invite beggars in the wedding ceremony to seek divine blessings and fortune in the life of the newly married sons and daughters," the groom's father Malay Saha said on Friday.
Saha, 54, scoured railway stations, streets, markets and temples to invite 187 beggars to the festivities held on Wednesday in Sodepur town on the outskirts of Kolkata, capital of the eastern state of West Bengal.
The modest celebrations contrasted with the wedding extravaganza of actress Elizabeth Hurley and her businessman groom Arun Nayar, who were due to tie the knot late Friday in western India, an event that has triggered a media frenzy.
The businessman said the beggars were taken by surprise at the invitation, and some even refused to give away their names, fearing that the police would chase them away from the railway platform.
"They stared at me in disbelief but all the beggars I invited came to the wedding reception and enjoyed a feast of rice, two kinds of fried fish, lentils, and traditional sweets," Saha told AFP.
The family believes that the tradition brings good fortune.
"My father Satish Chandra invited over 150 beggars on the day of my wedding. They blessed me and my wife and we are leading a happy live," Saha said.
"I believe God will bless us if we can feed some beggars on an auspicious day," said the new bride, Mumpy, who served the beggars.
Saha said he hoped that his 22-year-old son Sanjoy, who helps him in his business, would keep the tradition alive.
Some 60 family members and friends also turned up for the wedding on Wednesday, the same day that Hurley and Nayar kicked off three days of opulent marriage festivities in the desert state of Rajasthan, attended by a host of celebrities.
The Sahas also distributed clothes and fruit to their special guests.
"We were not beggars for a day. We wore our best clothes, had a good dinner and returned home after blessing the newly wed couple," said Guddu, who begs at a railway station.
"Saha's family welcomed us with red roses and offered cold drinks. It was a dream for us," he said, adding that many beggars had first dismissed the invitation as a joke.
Most Indians, irrespective of wealth, like to save money for their children's weddings, so that they can splurge in a display of social status.
©AFP
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