Bhubaneswar, April 17: If Irrfan Khan could do it in Life in a... Metro, why should grooms in the city miss out on it?

In case you are wondering, we are talking about white horses transporting grooms to their wedding venues.

White horses are gradually becoming an integral part of weddings, particularly baraats (wedding processions), and carriages drawn by such stallions are replacing white luxury cars.

"Carriages drawn by white horses add a different dimension to wedding processions. I have only one son and I am not sparing any efforts to make his wedding a memorable one," said Ratan Kumar Das, a businessman based in the city.

Because of this new interest in white horses, small-time traders from Delhi have started renting out these horses for weddings here. The people providing this service have eight white horses in the city.

"Going to one's wedding in a carriage pulled by a white horse is a rare experience. It makes you feel like a prince," laughs Biswajit Mohanty, who is preparing for the wedding of his younger brother.

"Earlier, only those from royal families had the privilege of riding these carriages and it was a status symbol. Now, since we have these horses available here, we have the opportunity to enjoy that privilege," he said.

Ushman, 39, who deals in supplying horses, said: "We charge at least Rs 18,500 from those who want our horses to be part of wedding processions. We get calls from Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and sometime even from places such as Puri."

Ushman made it clear that people who wanted to take the horses outside Bhubaneswar had to make arrangements for their travel to and from the destination. "The organisers need to arrange for the vehicle on which we can transport the horses and carriage. At least four people will accompany the horse," said Ushman, who now has 18 horses, including eight white ones.

On being asked whether the charge was not on the higher side, he argued that they hardly had any source of income when it was not the marriage season. "We have to maintain the horses and four people depend on the animals," he said, adding that they also decorate the horses and carriages with the flowers or other trinkets.

The expense on horse-drawn carriages is significantly higher than the amount spent on luxury cars. A luxury white car charges between Rs 11,000 and Rs 12,000 for a wedding.

The horse-carriages can transport the bride and groom to the wedding location, bring them back home and again take them to the reception. "Some carriage drivers also give wedding guests joyrides. But we charge extra for this," said one of Ushman's associates.

Apart from white horse-drawn carriages, many people are also opting for DJs over orchestra parties to add colour to wedding processions.

"With the change in people's mindset, many are opting for DJs instead of traditional band parties. Consequently, we are offering our services at an affordable cost," said Sujan Das, the owner of a band party.