27-year-old Ajay Barot had the time of his life during his lavish wedding. A unique ‘brideless’ wedding was held on May 10 in Champlanar village near Himmatnagar town of north Gujarat for Barot, a person with special needs, by his family to fulfil his childhood wish of getting married.
The marriage had all the elements associated with an Indian wedding celebration – music, fun and frolic. All the Gujarati rituals and traditions were followed for the wedding.
“Happy That I Fulfilled My Son’s Dream”
Barot was diagnosed with learning disability early on in his life. He also lost his mother when he was really young. Because of his disability, he never got a formal education.
Barot loved the exuberance around marriage. “He used to enjoy the wedding procession of other people and asked about his marriage. We were unable to answer his question as it was not possible to find a match for him. Thus, after talking to all my family members, I decided to arrange a wedding procession for him so he feels like his wedding is being held and his dream is getting accomplished,” said Ajay’s father Vishnu Barot. Vishnu Barot works as a conductor with the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation. Considering his meagre income, the entire Barot family came together and spent over 2 lakhs for the wedding which resulted in a big smile on Ajay’s face, worth a million dollars. Ajay’s father said that he was really happy that he was able to fulfil his son’s wish.
The wedding was organised as per the Gujarati tradition, with invitations being sent out to 800 guests. It also saw functions like Mehndi, Haldi ceremony and Garba performances. Ajay himself gleamed a beautiful beige colour sherwani with a pink turban. “Except for a bride, there was everything. Dance and garba programmes, fine clothes, photographers and all the associated with a proper marriage. We even distributed wedding cards to 800 people and organised a lavish feast,” said Ajay’s uncle Kamlesh Barot
