No Band, No Baaja: Maharashtra Groom Invests Wedding Funds in Building a Farm Road

In a heartwarming deviation from lavish wedding tradition, Srikant Ekude, 29-year-old farmer from Maharashtra's Chandrapur district's Susa village, chose sense over show by using his wedding funds to build a much-needed road to the farm. Wedding Anjali Garmade on April 28 in a low-key, open-air wedding ceremony rooted in Mahatma Phule's reformist 'Satyashodhak' practice, the bridegroom and bride contributed ₹50,000-originally allotted for celebrations-to build a 600-metre all-weather road, providing easy access to local farmers who had long wrestled through waterlogged fields, particularly during the monsoon season.

 

Shunning gifts and cash, the couple asked partygoers to bring saplings instead, and in doing so, over 90 fruit trees were planted on the property. "Personal happiness can go hand in hand with social responsibility," Srikant said, as their story makes a ripple effect of meaningful celebrations across rural India.

 

Source: Times of India