Cold locals, colder Cong: It rains on Jagat wedding

Legend goes that in 1891, a dalliance between Maharaja of Patiala Bhupinder Singh and the daughter of the British Commander-in-Chief ...

Legend goes that in 1891, a dalliance between Maharaja of Patiala Bhupinder Singh and the daughter of the British Commander-in-Chief Lord Kitchener led to the former’s banishment from Shimla.

The miffed regent then decided to set up his own summer capital. He established the quaint hill station of Chail, the venue of the wedding between Jagat Singh and Somaya Sehgal—son of former Foreign Minister Natwar Singh and sister of Andaleeb Sehgal, respectively.

On Saturday, the one hour detour from Shimla displayed faint vestiges of Patiala royalty though the locals were unsurprisingly blasé about the whole ceremony. But more surprising was the total aloofness of the Congress party. Most of the ministers in the ruling Congress Government including CM Veerbhadra Singh chose to stay away.

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The guests included the entire family of former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, who himself could not attend as he was away in London, nursing an injury. The propitious appeals of triple sevens apart, the elements did not show much kindness. A sudden squall led to uprooting of the wedding tent, forcing the celebrations indoors.

Incidentally, both families zealously kept the media away. But it wasn’t easy to keep uninvited guests like monkeys and flying squirrels at bay. When stick wielding watchmen and cautionary boards failed to protect the guests, the hotel staff had to resort to the services of a trusted lieutenant. Laloo the dog displayed amazing nimbleness and remarkable courage in dealing with the unwanted guests. To see him chase simians and engage them in foot to foot fights was much more entertaining than being part of a quick wedding where all shutterbugs and interactions with media were disallowed.