Lucknow,April 19: LOVE is an elixir for existence and one that ultimately brought Churai Yadav and Phoolmati together.But their’s is an unusual love story. For Churai is 85 years old And Phoolmati is 75.
They have been in love with each other for the last 40 years and it was only recently that Churai could muster the courage to ask for her hand in marriage.
The villagers of Sauran, Lucknow, were pleasantly surprised at first but then got together to make the wedding a memorable affair.And joining the couple were their children and grandchildren.They organised a grand reception and distributed food to a large number of poor people.
Churai and Phoolmati followed all the rituals and promised to take care of each other forever.
It was love at first sight for the two which dates back to four decades. Churai first saw Phoolmati at her maternal uncle’s home in Sauran where she had been living ever since separating from her husband. Phoolmati was married to Malik Deen some 55 years ago. Malik had a criminal past and having tolerated him for 15 years, Phoolmati finally decided to walk out with her son.
They started living at her maternal uncle’s place. At that time, Phoolmati was 35 years old.Churai, who is 10 years older than her, was 40 when he lost his wife who left behind two children.
Family matters took precedence and the two kept their love for each other a closely guarded secret. They carried on in this manner for four decades till they felt that time was slipping by.
“ I realised a few months back that I was ageing quickly. I told her about my fears and asked whether she would marry me.She agreed immediately,” Churai said.
“ We called a meeting of our children and grandchildren and told them about our plan. They all got excited. So, we tied the knot in the presence of the entire village,” he added.
Village chief Dinesh Singh, who attended the wedding, hoped that Sauran would find a mention in the Guinness World Records . “ We are going to write to the editor of the book and ask him to send a representative to the village. It is a sort of revolution which we are very proud of,” Dinesh said