Mumbai: If not for a phone call dialled accidentally three months ago, Lalita Bansi would have still been looking for a suitable groom. But as it was meant to be, on Tuesday evening, the 25-year-old acid attack survivor, tied the knot with Ravi Shankar Singh (27), a CCTV operator from Malad, at D’ Silva Technical College, Dadar.
“Ms. Bansi had accidentally dialled my number about three months ago. I then called her back after 15 days. We spoke and I fell in love with her voice. Our conversations continued on a daily basis and in the process, I proposed to her,” Mr. Singh told The Hindu .
Ms. Bansi had, during their initial conversations, told Mr. Singh that she was an acid attack survivor. “But I told her I was in love with her and would like to get married. Many couples fall in love with their partners’ face and eventually get divorced. With Ms. Bansi, I am not concerned about her face. She is a sweet person. I wish god blessed us for a lifetime,” said Mr. Singh.
Incident in Azamgarh
Ms. Bansi was a victim of an acid attack in 2012. It happened when she was visiting her home town Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh for her cousin’s wedding.
Daulat Bi Khan, founder of Acid Survivors Saahas Foundation, said, “A tiff broke out between her younger brother Sunny and her cousin Sham Babu. Ms. Bansi stepped in, and slapped both of them, asking them to stop fighting. She continued to stay in Azamgarh as her marriage was scheduled after five months. Fifteen days prior to her scheduled marriage, Mr. Babu threw acid on her face, as revenge for slapping him.”
Ms. Bansi has undergone 17 surgeries at Bombay Hospital and will be undergoing another 12 in the coming months. She is a member of Acid Survivors Saahas Foundation.
Support of sponsors
The wedding organised by the foundation has found support from many sponsors. One of them, Rushikesk Kadam, founder of Udyami Maharashtra, an entrepreneurs group, said, “ Two weeks ago, I saw Ms. Bansi at Swabhiman Mango Festival, Parel, where Acid Survivors Saahas Foundation had put up a stall. I enquired about her and the other acid attack survivors, and was told that she is financially weak.”
Mr. Kadam and his friends decided to help her by sponsoring her wedding and made arrangements for the food, décor, banquet hall, honeymoon package, and will also be gifting the bride several Paithani sarees. Rotary Club of Shivaji Park is gifting the couple an amount of ₹25,000.
The wedding outfits for the bride and groom, jewellery, and a pandit were sponsored by fashion designers Abu Jaani and Sandeep Khosla. Actor Vivek Oberoi’s gift to the couple is a flat in Mumbai.
