When bride Surbhi, left, died at her wedding, her groom married her sister Nisha, right, instead. Photo / Supplied
When bride Surbhi, left, died at her wedding, her groom married her sister Nisha, right, instead. Photo / Supplied
A bride collapsed and died on her wedding day – so the groom married her sister instead.
And no, that's not a disturbing storyline of a Hollywood movie; it really happened at a wedding in India last week.
The bride, only identified as Surbhi, collapsed of a heart attack whileexchanging traditional garlands with husband-to-be Manjesh Kumar at the start of their ceremony on Thursday, according to News18.
A doctor reportedly rushed to the scene but Surbhi was declared dead.
But instead of the wedding coming to a halt, the bride and groom's families came up with an alternative – replacing the bride with her sister, Nisha.
Groom Manjesh Kumar is pictured with his bride, Surbhi, on their wedding day - before she died from a suspected heart attack. Photo / Supplied
"We did not know what to do in the situation. Both the families sat together and someone suggested that my younger sister Nisha should be married to the groom," Surbhi's brother Saurabh told news agency IANS.
"The families discussed the matter and both agreed."
Manjesh went on to marry Nisha with Surbhi's body kept in another room until after the celebrations ended.
After Surbhi's death, Manjesh went on to marry her sister, Nisha, instead. Photo / Supplied
"It was a bizarre situation as the wedding of my younger sister took place while the dead body of my other sister was lying in another room," Saurabh told the Times of India.
After the wedding the family held her "last rites" and began the mourning process.
It is likely that Surbhi's family would have been expecting a dowry and needed the wedding to go ahead, according to a report by The Sun.
This led her mother, Guddi Devi, to make an emotional appeal for the wedding to go ahead, offering Nisha in Surbhi's place.
The family are said to be struggling with the "mixed emotions" following the nuptials.
"The grief over her death and the happiness of the wedding has yet to sink in," Saurabh said.
