Flote (J-K), Feb 23 (PTI) A groom got off to a flying start on Thursday when he brought his bride in a chopper from Punjab to his home in Flote village in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district.

Hundreds of villagers gathered to watch Paras Mehta and his bride Smiley alighting from the helicopter after its landing at a specially setup helipad here, in what turned into a gala media event.

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Amid bursting of crackers and beats of dholaks, villagers and groom's relatives welcomed the newly married couple as they were overwhelmed to see a chopper landing in the village for the first time.

"It was my grandfather's wish to bring 'doli' of my wife in a unique way. So, this happened. It's a dream come true for all of us," Paras told reporters.

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Paras is son of Ajit Mehta, who is a businessman. The family hired a private helicopter from Katra for about Rs 6 lakh for the event.

A native of Dinanagar district in Punjab, bride Smiley expressed her happiness over flying in a chopper to her in-laws' home. "I am very happy. I have no words to express my feelings," she said.

Villagers said that it was the first time that a man brought his bride to the village in a chopper.

"It was the first time that such an extraordinary event took place. The bridegroom and his family members had desired to bring the bride in a helicopter and they fulfilled it," a villager said.

This is probably the second such event in Jammu and Kashmir. In October 2017, Anil Kumar flew his baraat in a chopper from R S Pura border area in Jammu district and brought his bride in the chopper.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)