Man marries dog

A man in southern India married a female dog in a traditional Hindu ceremony as an attempt to atone for stoning two other dogs to death. The Hindustan Times reports P. Selvakumar married the sari-draped former stray named Selvi, who was chosen by family members and then bathed and clothed for the ceremony

Selvakumar told the paper he had been suffering since he stoned two dogs to death and hung their bodies from a tree 15 years ago. He said that after the stoning, he became paralyzed in his hands and legs and lost hearing in one ear.

The paper says an astrologer had told Selvakumar the wedding was the only way he could cure the maladies. It did not say whether his situation had improved. After the wedding, the paper reports that the groom and his family sat down to a feast while the dog got a bun.

Deeply superstitious people in rural India sometimes organize weddings to dogs and other animals, believing it can ward off certain curses. The paper showed a picture of Selvakumar sitting next to the dog, which was wearing an orange sari and a flower garland.