Did You Say Goat Swayamvar/Marriage?

With a click-baity name and an astonishing idea behind its inception, Tehri district of Uttarakhand celebrated with great pomp and pride ‘Bakri Swayamvar’ last week. Yes, you read it right, Bakri Swayamvar was an event organized to let goat brides Aaliya and Shraddha and sheep bride Kangana choose their grooms to live happily ever after with. While some might question, and many did, the need of such an event, The Green People, founder organization of this event, believes it to be a way to enrich and improve the gene pool of goats and sheep and in turn, benefit the goat rearing communities of Garhwal.

A Healthy Combination Of Science & Tradition

Predominantly a farming and rearing community, most of the Garhwalis had migrated to cities in search of better opportunities. Those that remained had begun using most of their crops to feed their cattle and in turn using them only for their meat. The Green People, a socio commercial organization founded by Mr Roopesh Rai, aims at catalyzing reverse migration of the Garhwali farmers and herders by attracting them to the ever existing agriculture and dairy farming prospects of their villages. Bakri Swayamvar is one such initiative where through cross-breeding of healthy individuals, the next generations hence produced could be used for healthy milk products rather than their usage being reduced only for meat. The prompt also aims at sensitizing the herders of the science of breeding, so healthy offspring could be produced.

The Big-Fat Indian ‘Goat’ Wedding

Like any other big-fat Indian wedding, Bakri Swayamvar and all who were present for the event experienced a huge baraat with the villagers and goat owners dancing to the traditional naati, and tourists and volunteers joining in. The animals, all groomed up and in heat, to be chosen by one of the brides were sure to be surprised by what their owners had planned for them. Much loved and celebrated Narendra Singh Negi sang some of his best songs, to which the ladkiwale and ladkewale danced their best. Addressing the six hundred or so gathering of the merrymakers and their animals, Mr Roopesh Rai green flagged the ceremony where the goat brides were let inside an enclosure with their male counterparts waiting to be chosen by them. And hence, Aaliya, Shraddha and Kangana chose Bablu, Sonu and Nandu, respectively to share their worldly vows with (and to mate, of course). This was followed by the Hindu wedding rituals of phere and vidai.

The event which experienced a footfall of many from within the village, the country and outside was thus a huge success, with the ones from grooms’ side inviting the new brides to their clan. An event like Bakri Swayamvar which is a fine blend of the necessary science and traditional ways of celebration is an esteemed example of how many of the social issues in our country or any country for that matter can be addressed. With a celebration that supports the beliefs of the villagers and the scientific inputs from the learned, this was a win-win for both the cattle and their owners and those trying to adopt a healthy and vegan way of living. While I believe there’s still some scope for improvement in the ways the animals are treated, it can be achieved in the times to come, one initiative at a time.

(All Pictures Used In This Article, Have Been Provided To Us By Richa Kumar)