Pune: A heartwarming incident of communal harmony and human kindness unfolded in Pune’s Wanwadi area on Tuesday evening, during what was supposed to be a grand wedding celebration.
The lawns of the SRPF’s Alankar Lawn were beautifully decorated with flowers and colorful lights for the wedding of members from the Kavade and Galande families. Guests had started arriving, the food counters were filling up, and the priest was preparing for the main wedding rituals. Both the groom and bride were all set to walk toward the wedding stage.
But just then, heavy rain started pouring down unexpectedly. Within minutes, the entire lawn was waterlogged. Guests, relatives, and even the bride and groom’s parents were drenched. The situation became tense, as the families were unsure how to continue with the wedding in such conditions. The bride’s father, who had dreamed of conducting his daughter’s wedding in a grand way, was left deeply worried and helpless.
In this moment of distress, unexpected help came from a neighbour, not in caste, not in religion, but in humanity.
Right next to the lawn, a Muslim family was hosting a wedding reception for a newlywed couple in a hall. When the Kavade family realized that the lawn could no longer be used, they approached Farooq Qazi, who was overseeing the Muslim wedding reception in the hall.
As soon as Farooq Qazi understood their problem, he didn’t hesitate. He requested the newlywed Muslim couple and their families to temporarily vacate the stage. Without any delay, he offered the stage and hall to the Hindu families for their marriage ceremony, happily and willingly.
For the next one and a half hours, Kavade and Galande families conducted the wedding rituals on the same stage that had earlier hosted the Muslim celebration. Once the Hindu wedding concluded, the Muslim reception resumed in the same hall.
In this rare moment, two families of different religions shared the same stage for two joyous occasions, a symbol of love, respect, and unity in diversity.
After the event, both Kavade and Galande families expressed their heartfelt gratitude to Qazi family. The bride’s father, Chetan Kavade, said emotionally, “A major crisis had hit my daughter’s wedding because of the rain. In that moment, the Qazi family helped us selflessly and made sure the ceremony happened. Yesterday, we witnessed how humanity is far more important than caste or religion.”
