Cohabiting for 50 yrs, couple marries in Udaipur village

UDAIPUR: Marriages are made in heaven and celebrated on earth! However, celebrations came a little late for this tribal couple who were perhaps fated to tie the knot after spending 50 long years together.
Eighty-year-old Pabura Kher took 'saat-pheras' with his live-in partner 70-year-old Rupli on Sunday afternoon at Roopani village in Mandwa panchayat at remote Kotra block of the district.
More than 150 people witnessed this occasion including 30 persons who are children and great grandchildren of the couple.
Couples living together before marriage is a common custom amongst tribal people. However, not performing the rituals even at a later stage is looked down upon in the community. Fifty years ago when Pabura and Rupli decided to live together, their families were too poor to afford a ceremony. Pabura had a small land and cultivation fetched him little money for a livelihood.
Since he could not afford money for a community feast and other expenses, the wedding was kept on hold.
Time flew by and the couple had seven children including five daughters. Their sons, Shankar and Bhanwaru have seven and six children, respectively. All of them are married and now the family has four members from the fourth generation.
Though they lived together for years, the malaise of not solemnising the rituals was something that always bothered them. Realizing the vacuum, their children who are quite well off now, decided to arrange the ceremony for Pabura and Rupli in a big way.
On Saturday, the 'haldi-peethi' (applying turmeric) and sangeet ceremony was held.
Villagers participated in the feast and danced on the wedding folk songs while on Sunday the bride and groom, accompanied by the entire family went to Roopani village where the bride's siblings performed 'kanya-daan'.
The bride returned with the groom and his relatives to their residence at Nayawas village on Sunday evening.