“It was a bizarre situation as the wedding of my younger sister took place while the dead body of my other sister was lying in another room," said the bride's brother.
Weddings are as stressful as they are joyous occasions, and people have to make some tough choices and sacrifices alike, but none of it can come close to what a family had to go through. Not only did they lose their daughter, but they also had to get their other daughter married on the same day and in the same venue as their older daughter died.
The groom reportedly got married to his bride's younger sister after the bride died of a heart attack before the ceremony. According to The New York Post, the incident took place in India. The bride — only identified as Surbhi — collapsed just as she was about to exchange garlands with husband-to-be Mangesh Kumar at the start of their ceremony.
News 18 reports that a doctor rushed to the wedding venue in Samspura village in Uttar Pradesh, but unfortunately, she was pronounced dead. The bride had died of a massive heart attack during her wedding ceremony. “As per the doctor, the bride died of heart attack,” said a relative. Both families had no idea what had to be done, but somehow, they came to the conclusion that the groom must marry the dead bride's younger sister.
“We did not know what to do in the situation. Both the families sat together and someone suggested that my younger sister Nisha should be married to the groom,” the bride's brother, Saurabh, said. It's a rather tricky situation, but both families decided to proceed with the festivities. “The families discussed the matter and both agreed,” he said.
As expected, there were mixed emotions because the grieving family, despite losing a daughter, had to go forward with the marriage as planned. “It was a bizarre situation as the wedding of my younger sister took place while the dead body of my other sister was lying in another room,” he said, according to the Times of India.
“One daughter was lying dead in one room and the wedding of another was going on in another room. We have never experienced such mixed emotions,” he said. “The grief over her death and the happiness of the wedding has yet to sink in.” It was then reported that the family went on to conduct the last rites for Surbhi once they got Nisha married off to Mangesh.
Surprisingly, this isn't the first time something like this has happened in India. In March this year, a young bride died after suffering a cardiac arrest, allegedly due to “excessive" crying during her vidai ceremony after the wedding. A vidai ceremony is where the girl bids farewell to her family before going to live with and be a part of her husband's family.
References:
https://nypost.com/2021/06/02/bride-dies-of-heart-attack-at-her-wedding-in-india-report/
Representative Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by (L) mahesh hariani, (R) fmajor