She is very sweet , beautiful and pretty . With her unkempt careless hairs touching her rosy cheeks and innocent looks , she must be a heart throb of many youths . So it is natural for any one to fall in love with her .
First time I saw her was when she was moving around in the Taj corridors at Agra she was looking at Taj with awe , wondering if any one could make such a magnificent structure just for love !
Next time I saw this beauty was at Jaipur palace with a bright tikka on her fore head on the occasion of holi . She was holding her dear papa’s hand .
I saw all these in television off course .
Her name is Chelesa and her father is Bill . As in case of most fathers , Bill must also be worried about the marriage of his only daughter , an apple of his eyes .
Recently she has been proposed . What if Bill is ex-president of United States , he too must have felt relieved to get a proposal of marriage for his loving daughter from a distant corner of Kenya . The dowry is also very lucrative , 40 goats and 20 cows !
This reminds me of miss Allis , another beauty from distant Swaziland , whom I happened to meet in Cape Town a couple of years back . I felt interested as she was also a practicing doctor - a homeopath , practicing in Swaziland . She was about 22 yrs old , fair beauty , 6’2’’ tall and naturally attractive . She had come to South Africa to meet her friend at Cape Town during the period I was working in Groote Schuur Hospital . As we were gossiping over a tea , she told me how she had been proposed by a young man who had offered 6 cows and 10 goats as dowry to her father . Unlike India , in African tribes , the custom is just reverse . Its the groom who offers dowry to the bride’s father . When Allis turned down the proposal , the man commented as how foolish she was to refuse such a nice proposal . After all “ 6 cows and 10 goats” , that’s rich dowry for a girl like Allis !
In African continent , only the rich landlords can afford to offer such proposals .
Swaziland by itself is a very interesting country . Love flows freely here . It is not unnatural then that the incidence of HIV and AIDS is maximum in this poor country . Swaziland is surrounded by South Africa from all sides . It depends upon that country for almost everything .
Swaziland is ruled by a king . The existing king is about 37 years old and has eleven wives and innumerable children most of whom he does not know by name. I do understand his dilemma – how can one remember the names of so many kids!
The king of Swaziland has a wonderful custom to choose his wife .On his birthday he holds a grand party. All the young and beautiful ladies across his kingdom are invited to this annual event . The girl he fancies is chosen as his wife. He of course presents a dowry to bride’s father . No father can possibly resist the temptation of royal dowry and no girl can resist the title of “ her highness” , even though it is only till the king’s next birthday when he chooses a new wife.
This custom is going on since many generations . The present king’s father had 42 wives .
One interesting fact Allis told me was that the present king is very intelligent and handsome . She was also invited to the palace once for the annual reception , but could not be that lucky one to be called as “her highness”.
Another fact she revealed was that the present king is very careful person – all his wives undergo HIV testing annually!!
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