Unique Jaimala competition of senior couples

While songs, music and entertainment dominated the  program organized at Vanprastha Senior Citizen Club in Haraya's Hisar on New Year's Eve, a unique  innovative competition of Jaimala ceremony of marriage by senior couples stole the show.About a dozen couples participated in it..Under the Jaimala competition, the men were made to stand in a line on one side while their wives stood on the other side.One among the wives was made to sit on a chair placed in between.Her husband standing at a distance of about five feet with a garland of flowers in his hand,was asked to throw the garland in a way that it goes around his wife's neck. 

Apparently easy task proved very difficult for the senior citizens.Only Prof.Rajpal Kharb managed to garland his wife Prof. Pushpa Kharb from a distance.None of the other senior citizens were successful in this unique competition, but about one hundred senior citizens and their family members, who participated in the program, enjoyed this entertaining program with lots of laughter.After their turn in the competition, the husband and wife duly garlanded each other and relived the memories of their wedding ceremony of nearly fifty years ago.Many said that they garlanded each other for the first time because when they got married decades ago, the ritual of garlanding was not very prevalent in their areas After each couple's jaymala, they were asked to sing a love song.  The winning couple of the competition recited a duet love song.
'Mujhe pyar ki jindagi dene wale
Kabhi gam na dena khushi dene wale….'

Ajeet Singh won a lot of applause from the audience by singing the popular Ragni of Rammehar Mehla.  The lyrics of Ragni were;

( I don't care about big mansions and luxury cars.
A wife loving playfully and some friends who standby in thick and thin, are the ultimate elements of happy life.) 
For the entertainment of senior citizens, this competition was organized by Hisar branch of DCB Bank.It was moderated by well-known anchor Junior Bhatti of Punjab.Other couples who participated in the competition included Prof. JK Dang and his wife Santosh Dang, Prof S K Garg and his wife Raj Garg, Prof. Hemraj Sharma and his wife Shashi, Yogesh Suneja and his wife Prof. Sunita Suneja, HK Gosain and his wife Shyama, OP Luthra and his wife Durga.
Musical chairs race and tambola competition were also organized in the programme.  DCB Bank Local Branch Manager Rohit Kumar said that senior citizens are the assets of the society and we should take advantage of their experience and knowledge. 

(Writer is a retired IIA officer and based in Hisar)