The Show Must Go On | Family Weds Their Younger Daughter to Groom After Bride Passes Away During Rituals

One person's loss is another's gain. That's how the world works. But, in this case, it's difficult to comprehend who lost and who gained. 

In the Subhash Nagar region of Bhavnagar in Gujarat, India, a bride breathed her last on her wedding day. The unforeseen death came across as a shock to family and relatives. But jaws dropped to the floor when the family substituted the bride with her younger sister instead of calling off the wedding.

Outside Bhavnagar's Bhagwaneshwar Mahadev Temple, the groom Vishal, son of Ranabhai Butabhai Algotar of the village of Nari, was set to marry Hetal, the now deceased bride. The festivities were taking place with family and friends alike enjoying the wedding songs playing in the background. 

During the elaborate wedding ceremony, guests were filling in when Hetal reportedly complained of a heavy head and dizziness. Moments later, she collapsed and passed out. The panic-induced crowd tried to lift her, and she was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital. But the news that followed gave Hetal's parents the "shock of their life."

Amidst the happy moments, the doctors declared Hetal dead, reports Indiatimes. She suffered a major heart attack and did not survive. The aggrieved family could not handle the loss, and the unbelievable news shattered her parents. However, the story did not end there.

If the bride's death was not painful enough, relatives added fuel to the blazing fire. Despite Hetal's death and her family's unfortunate situation, members of the community came up with an illogical idea. 

Relatives convinced the bride's father, a local man named Jinabhai Rathore, that they owe the groom's family a bride. Say what? 

As absurd as this may sound, they suggested that the father present Hetal's younger sister as an emergency substitute to marry Vishal. Despite the pain of the deceased bride's family, they kept persuading them to listen to their advice. Rathore eventually gave in.

According to the local news Hindi Latest, the late bride's body was kept in a mortuary refrigerator at the hospital until the ceremony was over. In the meantime, Vishal, the bridegroom took wedding vows with Rathore's younger daughter. 

According to reports, Laxmanbhai Rathore, a councilman for the city of Bhavnagar and the head of the Maldhari Samaj—who was a witness to the bizarre wedding—characterized the incident to be extremely sad. The councilman explained that "despite the family's shock at their daughter's passing, members of society persuaded them to set an example by not abandoning the bridegroom and his family without a bride." 

The news was not received positively by people on the internet. Twitter user @Chinmayi wrote: "In other news - bride dies of heart attack - relatives convince mourning family to not send the groom 'empty handed,' marry off the dead girl's sister to the groom. That's how disposable and replaceable girls are in Indian society."

Another Twitter user, @sharjeel_techy, commented, "Even if the younger sister was 'willing,' was it the right time to have a wedding? Seriously is the groom going empty-handed more important?" The shocking incident left many debating about what's right and wrong.