Lucknow: Lucknow: In a moving story of grit and heartbreak, a wedding in Lucknow went ahead even after a massive fire reduced a settlement in Vikas Nagar to ashes, leaving over 1,000 people homeless just hours before the ceremony.The blaze, which broke out on April 15, gutted over 280 shanties and destroyed the belongings of dozens of families — including those of the groom, Manish, whose ‘baraat’ was scheduled to leave within an hour.Family members said the atmosphere was festive moments before the tragedy struck. Guests had gathered, rituals were underway, and women were singing traditional songs as turmeric paste (ubtan) was being applied to the groom.“We were laughing, preparing him for the wedding. The ‘dholak’ was playing, and suddenly there were screams — someone shouted that the shanties were on fire,” recalled Rani, the groom’s aunt. “Within minutes, everything changed,” she said.Eyewitnesses said a series of gas cylinder explosions intensified the blaze, turning panic into chaos. Families ran abandoning clothes, cash, and valuables.“I saw flames swallowing one hut after another. We didn’t even get time to pick up the jewellery we had bought for the bride,” said Sunil Kumar, who had come to attend the wedding.“People were crying, running barefoot, some carrying children, others just trying to survive,” he recalled.The groom’s cousin, Deepak, said the fire erased months of preparation in minutes. “We had arranged everything with great difficulty. The ‘sherwani’, the ‘sehra’, even the shoes — everything was destroyed. Even the gifts we had packed for the bride were gone,” he said.More than a hundred guests who had travelled from nearby districts fled the site in panic.Amid the chaos, Manish’s mother, Pushpa, who works as a domestic help in nearby colonies, collapsed after witnessing the destruction.The family said she had taken a loan of Rs 1.5 lakh to organise her son’s wedding.“I kept thinking — how will we face the girl’s family now? We had nothing left — not even clothes for the groom,” she said.Yet, in the face of total devastation, the family made a decision that stunned many — they would go ahead with the wedding.“There was no question of cancelling it. The girl’s family had already made arrangements. Had we backed out, it would have been another tragedy for them,” said Vikas Babu, a relative.With borrowed clothes and no ceremonial grandeur, Manish set out with a bare ‘baraat’. There was no band, no decorated vehicle — only a handful of relatives accompanying him quietly.The procession reached bride Madhu’s village in Pani Gaon, Indiranagar, nearly four hours later than scheduled. The wedding was solemnised in a subdued atmosphere.“The rituals were completed, but there was no joy, only silence. We could see the pain in their eyes,” said a member of the bride’s family.However, with the groom’s house reduced to ashes, the customary ‘vidaai’ could not take place. The bride remained at her parental home, waiting for a home that no longer exists.“How could we send our daughter when there is no roof over their heads,” said the bride’s father Rakesh softly. “We told them — first rebuild your home, then take her with dignity.”Manish, visibly shaken, said, “I got married, but I could not bring my wife home. I do not even know where that home is now.”
