Gwalior: No frills, please! There won’t be neither extravagance nor glam quotient that usually marks even middle-class Indian weddings these days. Thanks to the advent of Bollywood.
Come January 22, Adarsh Gaushala, which had achieved a significant milestone by opening India’s first state-of-the-art, self-sufficient cowshed equipped with Compressed Biogas (CBG) plant, will host a wedding of a first-of-its-kind at the venue.
The campus of Adarsh Gaushala provides a perfect ambience for nature-culture combination. An arrangement is made for visitors to sit on the grass-made mat and a bullock cart will be there for carrying the couple. In accordance with the Indian tradition, guests will be offered sattvic food at the wedding.
The family members of Shivam Gaur, a resident of Gwalior, contacted organisers to allot them rooms in the gaushala to organise the marriage traditionally with the use of natural ingredients. During a conversation with ETV Bharat, Gaur said, “Marriage is a sacred union and when two persons decide to begin a new life through marriage, the event should occur in front of gau mata or mother cow.”
According to him, there can be no holy place other than gaushala. “That’s why we decided to conduct the marriage at gaushala,” he said. When Shivam proposed a gaushala for their dream destination, his girlfriend was taken aback. He convinced her parents who are from the Mahoba district that the marriage should take place in a pure Vedic way in the presence of saints and cows. He got their consent.
An attempt to revive traditions
Shivam said January 22 is the day of Lord Ram’s passing away in Ayodhya and to commemorate that day, this marriage will be conducted in sync with Vedic tradition,. “We are not doing anything new but we are trying to revive the tradition that we tend to forget. During the time of invasion, marriages in India used to take place in the same way,” Gaur said.
Canopied dais
Gaurs wanted the venue to look like a perfect eco-friendly wedding venue. Preparations are now being made to make the cowshed attractive. The gaushala authorities have been told to offer food to guests who will sit on the ground to eat. “Sattvik foods will be prepared using organic vegetables grown in the gaushala fields. The dais will be hut-like canopies made with dry grass. Cottages will also be built on the premise. Guests can stay there.
No money to be charged
Gaushala authorities won’t charge any money as Gaur family won’t have to pay any booking money. The only condition the authorities made is that a bhandara should be organised for cows. Rishabhadev Anand Maharaj of Sant Samiti Krishnayan Gau Seva Samiti, which is managing Adarsh Gaushala, said, “At Adarsh Gaushala, we are not charging any money but want people to arrange for cow foods like grass, porridge and jaggery. The proportion of the food served to cows has to be equal quantity of foods served to guests at the wedding.”