Wedding on rooftop, thanks to floods

Yaqoob Ahmed, a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Baharaich district, about 200 km from here, wanted his daughter’s wedding to be solemnised in a grand style, different from ordinary marriages.

And the wedding was indeed solemnised differently but not exactly the way Ahmed had desired.

The couple exchanged wedding vows on the roof of a house as the venue had been submerged under several feet of water.

The groom was forced to travel to the venue on a tractor, leaving behind his luxury car. The rituals were performed under the light of the lanterns as there was no power in the flood-ravaged village.
According to reports, Yaqoob’s daughter Shama’s marriage had been fixed with Salman, a resident of the same district. The marriage was to be solemnised on Thursday.

The wedding party left for the venue in luxury cars and buses but they had to abandon them several miles before Baundi village as flood waters overflowed the roads. They then boarded tractors and reached the venue. As the flood waters had submerged the ground and first floor of the house, the guests had to climb on to the roof. The wedding was solemnised on the rooftop under the lights of lanterns.
The host had a tough time arranging food for the wedding party. “It was different. I had never imagined my daughter would be married in such a way. Maybe the gods wanted it to happen this way,” said Yaqoob.