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An Indian businessman has reportedly paid around $1.7 million to 236 fatherless as gifts by organizing a mass wedding for them.
According to the reports, the diamond trader, Mahesh Savani put on the event for couples from poor families in the western state of Gujarat.
Mr. Savani has organized mass weddings since 2012 and believes giving away brides is a blessing from God, according to a report by The Independent, citing AFP.
He said “With Sunday’s mass wedding, I have become (a) proud father to have performed ‘kanyadaan’ [the Hindu ritual of giving away one’s daughter in marriage] of over 700 girls.”
The businessman gave gifts of gold and household items worth 500,000 rupees ($7,355) to each of the brides.
According to the paper, Mr. Savani began the event after one of his employees passed away days before his daughter’s wedding.
In 2015 Mr Savani sponsored 151 brides whose fathers had also died and in 2014 he organised a further 111 weddings.
This comes as an Indian businessman and politician spent around $74 million in his daughter’s wedding last month in what was called as the country’s ‘huge’ and ‘controversial’ wedding that attracted the world attention amid ongoing cash flow crisis in the country.
With gold-plated invitations, the ceremony has drawn attention of the critics who have described it as an “obscene display of wealth”.
According to reports, Janardhan Reddy has spent over Rs 5 crore Indian Ruppees on the invitation cards only which had an LCD screen inside it that gets alive with a text announcing “Bramhani Weds Rajeev Reddy” followed by a song and dance by Reddy family.
The wedding kicked off days after the Indian government announced it would scrap 500 and 1,000 rupee notes in a crackdown on undeclared wealth. -KP
THE PASHTUN TIMES
