It is a universally recognized truth that people in India, no matter how rich or poor they are, dream of a big fat marriage. This might also be the one time in life where, even if you don’t want to, everyone expects you to do everything you can.
Ask Rajeena, from Ottapalam, Palakkad district, northern Kerala, who struggled in August to pay for her eldest daughter’s wedding expenses. The single mother, married at 13 and widowed at 33, survives thanks to meager financial support from her maternal grandfather. Things were getting stressful for her when she stumbled upon a store that helped her cross an important thing off her heavy expense list, the coveted bridal lehenga.
Days before the wedding, Rajeena traveled to Thootha, a small town on the Malappuram-Palakkad border, and picked up a beautiful light green lehenga, which was selected by her daughter via a video call. Rajeena paid nothing for the outfit that would otherwise have cost him several thousand rupees, but a heartfelt gratitude to Nasar CP, aka Nasar Thootha, who runs what he calls a clothing bank.
