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 A wealthy Indian couple has made a pet monkey their sole heir, saying their lives became more prosperous after they adopted the animal and they want to ensure he is looked after. 
 
 Brajesh Srivastava and his wife Shabista have no children, but they view their pet monkey Chunmun as a son and have set up a trust to ensure the animal is looked after if it outlives them. 
 
 “People might say we are mad, they might even ridicule us. But we know how valuable Chunmun is to us,” Shabista, 45, told AFP. 
 
 “We are childless and Chunmun is a son to me. We want to ensure that even when we are not alive, Chunmun’s life is not affected and he continues to live the way he does.” 
 
 The couple, who were cast out after marrying against their family’s wishes, say they were poor when they adopted their monkey in 2004 but have since prospered. 
 
 They own the house where they live in Uttar Pradesh state in northern India, and they also have land and savings. 
 
 Shabista is a successful lawyer and her 48-year-old husband owns several businesses including a cable TV network and a flour mill — all named after Chunmun. 
 
 The monkey has his own air-conditioned room in the couple’s house, which he shares with his ‘wife’ — a female simian named Bitti who the couple has also taken in. 
 
 The two monkeys like to eat Chinese food and drink tea and mango juice according to Shabista, who even hosts an annual “wedding anniversary” party for the pair, inviting hundreds of friends to celebrate. 
 
 At 10, Chunmun may well outlive the couple — monkeys can live for between 35 and 40 years. 
 
 After his death, the money will go towards ensuring the welfare of monkeys in India, where the animals are frequently abused. 

 Image copyright Sandeep Kumar Image caption Shabista feeds Chunmun a diet of milk, fruit and home-cooked meals 
 
 An Indian couple who were ostracised after their families disapproved of their wedding have decided to leave all their property to their pet monkey. 
 
 Brajesh Srivastava and wife Shabista told BBC Hindi they were "lonely for many years" before they bought Chunmun the monkey in 2005 for 500 rupees ($8). 
 
 The couple, who have no children, say they have raised him like a son. 
 
 Mr Srivastava is Hindu and his wife is Muslim, and inter-faith marriages are still controversial in parts of India. 
 
 Mrs Srivastava says both their families shunned them after their marriage and that they were lonely until they bought Chunmun. 
 
 "He was a baby then, less than a month old, and his mother had died after being electrocuted," she says. 
 
 She feeds Chunmun a diet of milk, fruit and home-cooked meals. His room has an air-conditioner to keep it cool in the summer and a heater to warm it in the winters. 
 
 Image copyright Sandeep Kumar Image caption The couple say they were "lonely for many years" until "Chunmun came into our lives" 
 
 In 2010, the couple arranged a lavish wedding for Chunmun to a female monkey named Bitti Yadav. 
 
 The two monkeys live together at the couple's home, and have a party for their wedding anniversary every year. 
 
 Mr Srivastava said his business has improved and the family has seen prosperity ever since they adopted Chunmun. 
 
 The house in Raebareli town in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh where the Srivastavas live is named Chunmun and the couple talk about the simian with the indulgence of fond parents. 
 
 "For breakfast he has pomegranate and a glass of milk. At 10am, he has a home-cooked meal of lentils, bread, vegetables and chutney," Mrs Srivastava says. 
 
 She says Chunmun went through a phase where he would bite people. 
 
 "A doctor we consulted said it was illegal to keep a wild animal as pet," she says. 
 
 "When we heard that we started crying and told him that Chunmun was like our son. He felt sorry for us and spoke to some officials on our behalf. He also levelled Chunmun's teeth so that he won't be able to bite people," she says. 
 
 Although some street performers train the simians to entertain people and earn a living through them, correspondents say not many Indians are known to keep monkeys as pets. 
 
 In a rare case, a woman in the north-eastern state of Tripura was known to have adopted a monkey whom she used to breastfeed.
– Indian couple Brajesh and Shabista Srivastava consider their pet monkey to be the son they never had. Purchased as a baby for $8 roughly a decade ago, Chunmun the monkey has helped erase the loneliness the childless couple felt after being shunned by their families over their inter-faith marriage, the BBC reports; Brajesh, 48, is Hindu, while his 45-year-old wife is Muslim. So, like any son might, Chunmun will be recognized in the couple's will following their deaths. In fact, the monkey, expected to live another 25 to 30 years, is their sole heir, and will get everything from the couple's home to their land and savings, reports the AFP. "We want to ensure that even when we are not alive, Chunmun's life is not affected and he continues to live the way he does," Shabista says. It turns out the monkey leads a fairly charmed life. He lives in an air-conditioned room with his "wife," a female monkey named Bitti Yadav. The pair dine on Chinese food, fruit, and home-cooked meals; drink tea, milk, and mango juice; and have hundreds of human friends invited to their annual wedding anniversary party. "People might say we are mad," says Shabista, a lawyer. "But we know how valuable Chunmun is to us." After he dies, any remaining assets will go toward caring for monkeys in India.