AHMEDABAD: This Christmas Day will bring in a special cheer for 236 women from poor families. Surat-based Mahesh Savani, a prominent real-estate builder who also has business interests in diamond and education, has organised a mass wedding ceremony stretching over three days, in which these women, who have lost their fathers and have no means of livelihood, will be married. Mr. Savani has already sponsored the marriage of 800 women so far.
Thousands of guests are expected to join the festivities at the mega event beginning on December 22. The 236 girls, who belong to families with no bread earners, will be given some gold jewellery, household items, including furniture, and clothes to help them set up their homes after marriage.
“Last year, I sponsored the marriage of 151 father-less girls. Since 2008, I have been sponsoring weddings of girls who lost their fathers and have no other social support in their families,” Mr. Savani said. He proudly adds that almost 800 of these girls address him as ‘papa’ as he has become their foster father.
Mr. Savani said he is organising the event because his family has a tradition of social service and that helping girls of poor families is very sacred to his family. When asked about the expenses, the 48-year-old said, “I spent Rs. 5 crore last year when 151 girls were married off. This year, the costs will be substantially higher.”
It all began in 2008 when a distant relative working in his company died two weeks before the wedding of his two daughters. “It was very difficult for the family to arrange everything and I stepped in. This got me started,” Mr. Savani said.
“I make no distinction based on caste or religion. Hindu, Muslim or Christian, high caste or low caste —anyone who comes to me seeking help is welcome. I just ask for a death certificate of the girl’s father and then I take care of the expenses for the wedding.”
This year, he says, of the 236 girls to be married off, there are Muslim girls too who will perform nikah in the mass ceremony in the presence of more than 50,000 people.
