India, Oct. 16 -- Ludhiana farmer Charanjit Singh Mainta's grief spilled into ritual and pageantry this week as he arranged a bhog (feast) and ardas (prayers) at Gurdwara Parmeshwar Dwar for Fateh Jung - a colt with a shimmering blue-grey coat he raised at home and loved so fiercely that he called it his third son.
Invitations were printed and relatives summoned even as the village gathered to honour an animal that had become part of the family's daily life, a social media sensation and a head-turner at regional fairs.
Born in the family courtyard and reared like a child, Fateh Jung was inseparable from Mainta and his wife. "Whatever I ate, I fed Fateh," the visibly moved farmer said, describing how the colt ate desi ghee and milk and spe...