'Hawai bidai' catches on with MP's rural folk

JABALPUR: Why should Haryana farmers have all the fun? Their much poorer cousins in MP are all geared to join the growing fad for hawai bidai (departure by air) for newly weds.
A helicopter is the ultimate in luxury and power, Devilal Meena, a small-time farmer from Hargaon Khurd in Sheopur district declared with conviction. Meena was always fascinated by helicopters that flew in netas during election times.So to give his eldest son "a taste of the best" he scraped and saved Rs 6.5 lakh for airlifting the newlyweds - "a feat people in Sheopur where 80% houses do not have toilets had never witnessed."
He rattles off the list of expenditure - Rs 5.75 lakh to the Delhi-based aviation company, Rs 25,000 to PWD officers for preparing makeshift helipad in Swai Madhopur (the bride's place) and Sheopur, Rs 8,000 to the police officer for stationing guards for an hour, charges for doctor and the ambulance. But then the show, he said, was well worth it..
People from neighbouring villages arrived in droves to have a look at the couple who descended by "vayu marg" on Tuesday, Meena told TOI. Sharbat, the tenth-pass bride and her family in Sawai Madhopur had also not expected such luxury. The journey to Hargaon, situated on MP-Rajshtan border took nearly 50 minutes, and when the copter eventually touched down, the crowd went hysterical. It took the four policemen on duty all their might to restore order, Meena proudly declared.
Last week, it was Kripal Patel from Bhedaghat in Jabalpur who married off his son Umesh in style. Patel had promised his son a "helicopter wedding" said Shivdas Patel, his younger brother, who eventually approached the aviation company to strike the deal.
The move was basically a tribute to our father who believed in lavish lifestyle even though it was out of bounds, says Shivdas. The family, like Meenas, has never seen a plane from close quarter leave aside boarding it, but the younger generation deserves better, he said. "In fact the entire joint family put their heads together to make the event memorable for the clan if not the district and the helicopter borne newly- weds seemed a great idea," he recounted. He had heard about a similar wedding in Pipaliyakumar village of Dewas where groom Ajay Patel had arrived from Nariyakeda to fetch his bride in a copter, he said but then "the family was certainly not inspired by this. It was our original idea, he insisted adding "nothing great about throwing money around when you have it by shovelfuls. Fun lies in living it up with half your pockets empty."