Wednesday 21 November 2007

Here comes the bride


Last week the Hindustan Times reported that an Indian man married a female dog in a traditional Hindu ceremony. The man said he chose to do this in an attempt to rid himself of a curse which he believes was inflicted on him after he had stoned two dogs to death. P. Selvakumar's family chose a stray named Selvi as his bride. According to Hindu tradition, she was bathed and clothed for the ceremony which was held at a Hindu temple in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. The 33-year-old Indian talked to reporters and said that fifteen years ago he stoned two dogs to death and hung their bodies from a tree. He had been paralysed ever since and he believes that he was cursed for his deed. "After that my legs and hands got paralysed and I lost hearing in one ear," he told the Indian newspaper. According to the paper, Selvakumar was told by an astrologer that the only way he could be cured was by marrying a dog. The newspaper failed to say whether the man’s condition changed after the ceremony. This case is not unusual in rural India where people are very superstitious. Weddings between humans and other animals have been organised before as locals believe such ceremonies can ward off certain curses.The picture in the paper showed Selvakumar sitting next to the female dog. The bride was wearing an orange sari and a flower garland. After the ceremony, Selvakumar and his relatives had a feast, while the dog received a bun.

10 comments:

Flowerpot said...

Poor dog. I hope he treats his bride better than his previous canine friends.

Whispering Walls said...

At least if you kiss a frog, you have the possibilty of it turning into a prince...

Eurodog said...

WW,
Good point!

jmb said...

I saw this on another blog recently. Mighty strange. I wonder if he would feel sorry about stoning the dogs if he hadn't believed the paralysis was connected to it.

Mopsa said...

How do I say this without being coarse? Not sure I can....

I truly hope he isn't about to add bestiality to his previous crimes against dogs. Married or not.

Cornish Dreamer said...

Well, I suppose the paralysis would prevent bestiality. And why was the dog only given a bun?

An interesting glimpse into another culture. Where do you find these things?

Eurodog said...

Mopsa,
I agree with you 100%.
Some things are best left unanswered.

Eurodog said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Eurodog said...

RT,
Yes I think a bun is a poor substitute for a feast but then maybe a bun was a feast for the poor dog.

Anonymous said...

What an amazing story, let's hope they live happily ever after.