‘Facebook mom’ flies down from US for wedding

Four years ago, when Krishna Mohan Tripathi, 28, befriended Deb Miller, a resident of USA, he thought it would help him get to know the US well.

As he began chatting with the 60-year-old woman on the net, he found her to be a compassionate listener and advisor.

Mr Tripathi, who had lost his mother at a young age, received emotional support from the lady and gradually the two developed a mother-son like bond.

Earlier this week, Mr Tripathi got married and, as a courtesy, he invited Ms Miller to attend his wedding.

Ms Miller, who lives in California, gave Mr Tripathi a huge surprise when she called him and said that she had arrived in Delhi and was trying to arrange for her travel to Gorakhpur, where the wedding was being held.

Mr Tripathi and his family were so excited to hear about his Facebook mom’s arrival that the entire clan reached the Gorakhpur railway station to receive her with a traditional aarti.

Ms Miller dressed up in a traditional wedding sari and participated in all functions, just as a mother would do. Ms Miller gave Mr Tripathi jewellery worth `25 lakh and also a 125-year-old ring, which she had purchased from an auction house in Britain, as wedding gifts.

Talking to local reporters, she said, “I do not have children and when I interacted with Krishna, I felt that God had given me a son. He loves me like a mother and I pray all his wishes come true.”

Mr Tripathi, who is presently pursuing M.Sc from the Avadh University in Faizabad and aspires to become a lawyer, said that “Mom” had invited the newly married couple to USA and he planned to go there soon.

Ms Miller, who returned to the USA on Sunday, said that she had fallen in love with the sari and was taking back two dozen saris that had been gifted to her by Mr Tripathi’s family.