Rajasthan is usually associated with cases of female infanticide. But in a happy turn of events, a farmer in Rajasthan celebrated the birth of his baby daughter who was born in the family after 35 years by bringing her home in a helicopter.
The farmer, Hanuman Prajapat, is a resident of Nimbdi Chandawata village in Nagaur district, 200 km north of Jaipur. He hired the helicopter from a private company in Jaipur at a cost of Rs 4.5 lakh. He also prepared a helipad in his farm for the chopper to land in.
His wife gave birth to a baby girl named Siddhi on February 2 at her parents village, Harsolav, a distance of 30 km from Nimbdi. When it was time to take the baby home, her father Hanuman hired a helicopter.
Hanuman left along with his cousins at 9 am by chopper to bring his daughter home. After some rituals and prayers, Hanuman, his wife Chuka Devi, baby daughter and cousins left Harsolav around 1.30 pm and reached Nimbdi village by 2.15 pm.
When they landed in Nimbdi village, the entire path from the helipad to their home was lined with flowers and a band was also in attendance to welcome the baby girl. Prayers and rituals were held at the Prajapat home and the family also organised a party for family and friends.
Hanuman said since Wednesday was the ninth day of Navratra on which goddess Siddhidatri is worshipped, he named his daughter Siddhi.
Expressing happiness on arrival of his granddaughter, her grandfather Madanlal Prajapat said, “Daughters are still unwanted in our society and there are still families who don’t celebrate the birth of a girl child. I had decided long back that if a girl is born in our family, we will celebrate her birth and bring her home by helicopter. Hope this will inspire other villagers to celebrate the birth of a daughter,” he said.
