Gay marriage has gotten its due; but now it's time to pave the way for monkey marriage.
The small village of Talwas, deep in the forests of India, seems to be mixed up in some serious monkey business of its own. The tiny Indian village just recently became home to two monkeys tying the knot. It's the first time it has ever happened in the country.
How about the lucky couple? Raju, the monkey groom, was known in his village for “eating, sleeping and smoking cigarettes with his owner, Ramesh Saini, who treated him like a son.” Chinki, the bride, belonged to a priest in a nearby village.
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Rather than the two “falling in love,” the marriage was closer to a traditional arranged marriage, often found in Indian culture. Two months ago, Chinki's owner approached Saini with a marriage proposition.
It also turns out that there was just one small problem: the marriage, according to officials, violated the 1972 Wildlife Protection Act. Citizens aren't allowed to pet or train monkeys, never mind marry them off. The animals play a significant role in Hindu culture.
Both monkeys and owners, as a result, were forced to go into hiding. Still, the planning had been nothing short of extravagant: hundreds of invitations were sent out, and a pre-wedding feast and a wedding procession complete with a horse were already in the works.
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On the day of the nuptials, authorities flooded the village and encountered hundreds of villagers awaiting the spectacle instead. The monkeys were secretly married off in the deep woods as a result.
Officials have found both Raju and Chinki, but hope to release them back into the wild soon. But for Saini, who is a childless rickshaw driver, Raju's wedding was just a way for him, in his own words, "to enjoy the feelings of a son's marriage."
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