JAIPUR: In an extraordinary celebration of the birth of a girl child, a family in Rajasthan's Nagaur district brought its newborn daughter in a helicopter to their village on Wednesday.
This is the first daughter born in the family for over 35 years and the chopper ride, made at a cost of Rs 4.5 lakh was a unique way to express their joy.
Village folks of Nimbdi Chandawata in Nagaur district turned up to watch the arrival of the chopper and catch a glimpse of the baby girl. Riya was born at her maternal grandfather’s home two months ago. She landed in her paternal village on the auspicious occasion of Ramnavami, villagers sang bhajans and showered flowers on the baby and her mother.
Children have often been born in the family of Riya’s grandfather Madan Lal Kumhar but for the past 35 years, there was no girl child among them. When the desire of the family members for a girl child was finally fulfilled, the grandfather decided to bring the girl home in a helicopter. For this, he took permission from the district collector to fly a helicopter and the authorities also allowed the family to build helipads both in Riya's maternal and paternal villages.
The 30 km distance between the two villages was covered in about 20 minutes through the chopper ride. Riya’s father Hanuman Ram Prajapat was obviously a delighted man with his daughter in his arms. As he deboarded the helicopter, the proud father remarked: “By bringing my two-month-old daughter in a helicopter, we want to tell everyone that the birth of a daughter is an occasion that should be celebrated like a festival. Instead of feeling sad, we should all be happy when a daughter is born.”
Riya was taken home in a ceremonial style with a band playing and she received a warm welcome when reached home by all family members and people of the village.
From the remarkable chopper ride to the warm welcome which Riya received in rural Rajasthan is a most heartening sign as many in the Indian society still discriminate between sons and daughters. While some people consider the birth of girls as a curse even today, Riya’s example is a clear indication that the tide is starting to turn for India’s daughters.
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