NEW DELHI: A groom in meat-strapped Uttar Pradesh walked out on the bride because her family had served only vegetarian food at the wedding, Outlook magazine reported on Friday.

Another man stepped in to accept the vegetarian repast and with it the bride, the magazine said. It did not describe the religion of the groom but it appeared to be a Muslim wedding as there was reference to the price of buffalo meat going through the roof, a factor in not serving meat.

“They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Sometimes the opposite is also true,” Outlook said.

It quoted guests at the Muzaffarnagar as describing how they the groom refusing to solemnise his marriage “after seeing that only vegetarian dishes were being served at the wedding feast on Thursday.”

With the ceremony on the verge of a breakdown, “a guest came to the rescue and proposed marriage to the bride-in- waiting who readily accepted”, panchayat officials told the magazine.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2017