I’m from Adilabad and my husband’s a Gujarati

Unmindful of caste and status, many Gujarati bachelors are marrying women from Adilabad, given the poor sex ratio in their State

A Gujarati bridegroom with his bride, a Munnur Kapu woman from Adilabad, pose for pictures after their marriage was solemnised on Sunday.– Photo: S. Harpal Singh

Gujarat’s lopsided sex ratio (918 females to 1,000 males) is turning out to be a boon for women from poor families of the district.

With finding a suitable match in their home State becoming difficult, more and more Gujarati bachelors are seeking matrimonial alliances with women from Adilabad. And what’s more, they are unmindful of caste and financial considerations.

Nearly 30 girls from different villages and towns of Adilabad have been married to Gujarati youth, with some of them settled in and around the district. While most girls belong to the Mathura pastoralist community, two belong to the Reddy and four to the Munnur Kapu, including the daughter of locally well-known physician M. Dattu who got married here on Sunday.

It all started about 12 years ago when Bera Narendra Patel of Indervelli revenue mandal headquarters got married to a Mathura girl. His younger brother Kailash followed suit two years later and married the younger sister of his sister-in-law.

“Gujaratis and Mathuras share many beliefs and customs – like worshipping Lord Krishna and the holy cow,” observed Kailash Patel. “The elders of both our families had no objection,” he quipped.

The Bera family was subsequently flooded with requests from eligible Gujarati men for finding suitable matches. “We, however, are cautious in vetting the requests, in the interest of the girls,” said Kailash Patel, who has helped settle at least 16 such alliances.

“Our girls are quite happy in their homes,” revealed Indrabai, a widowed Mathura woman from Neredigonda revenue mandal headquarters who married off her three daughters to Gujarati youth. “No marriage has soured so far,” Narender Patel added, to indicate that the girls were being well looked after in their new homes in villages around Junagadh and Rajkot districts, while others are scattered in Adilabad and neighbouring Chandrapur district of Maharashtra.

“I am convinced that my daughter will be cared for well,” said Dr. Dattu, when asked why he preferred marrying his daughter off to someone from a far-off State. “There was no hassle with regard to difference in our cultures,” he added.

Unmindful of caste and status, many Gujarati men are seeking to marry women from Adilabad, given the poor sex ratio in their State