Ctwentysevenj
03-14-2015, 07:57 AM
By Neville Lazarus, Asia Producer
A bride in India walked away from her wedding minutes before she was due to marry because the groom could not add up.
Relatives of the couple had gathered together at the wedding venue and preparations had begun in Kanpur Dehat, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
But the bride was suspicious of groom Ram Baran's apparent qualifications and her cousin tested him out with the question: What is 15 plus six?
He replied: "17". The answer, in case you're having a tough day, is 21.
That, as far as the bride was concerned, was that.
She left the scene just when as the wedding was about to be solemnised, saying she could not marry an uneducated person.
Her father Mohar Singh said: "Any class one student must be able to solve the simple problem asked by us.
"The family of the groom had kept us in the dark about the youth's qualifications.
"It was a very embarrassing situation for all of us as we had come with all preparations and it was a matter of social prestige as well.
"We have been cheated."
The groom's family tried to persuade her into going ahead with the ceremony but she would not agree.
Eventually, local police were brought in to mediate and presents and jewellery that had been exchanged before the wedding were all returned.
This is not the first bride in India who has called off a wedding because she expected more of her man.
Anita Narian, 23, from Betul in Madhya Pradesh, rejected her husband's home because there was no toilet.
She told him she could only live with him when he built a lavatory, which he subsequently did.
The Indian government later gave her £7,500 for making a stand.
The government in 2012 introduced a No Toilet, No Bride campaign, telling men's families to build toilets before marrying off their sons.
Almost half the population have to go to the loo in the open because they have no toilet facilities and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has even spoken out about the issue as part of his Clean India campaign.
Women who do not have private toilet facilities face a security risk while venturing out in the early morning or late at night, with reports of women being assaulted or raped while out searching for somewhere to go to the lavatory.
A bride in India walked away from her wedding minutes before she was due to marry because the groom could not add up.
Relatives of the couple had gathered together at the wedding venue and preparations had begun in Kanpur Dehat, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
But the bride was suspicious of groom Ram Baran's apparent qualifications and her cousin tested him out with the question: What is 15 plus six?
He replied: "17". The answer, in case you're having a tough day, is 21.
That, as far as the bride was concerned, was that.
She left the scene just when as the wedding was about to be solemnised, saying she could not marry an uneducated person.
Her father Mohar Singh said: "Any class one student must be able to solve the simple problem asked by us.
"The family of the groom had kept us in the dark about the youth's qualifications.
"It was a very embarrassing situation for all of us as we had come with all preparations and it was a matter of social prestige as well.
"We have been cheated."
The groom's family tried to persuade her into going ahead with the ceremony but she would not agree.
Eventually, local police were brought in to mediate and presents and jewellery that had been exchanged before the wedding were all returned.
This is not the first bride in India who has called off a wedding because she expected more of her man.
Anita Narian, 23, from Betul in Madhya Pradesh, rejected her husband's home because there was no toilet.
She told him she could only live with him when he built a lavatory, which he subsequently did.
The Indian government later gave her £7,500 for making a stand.
The government in 2012 introduced a No Toilet, No Bride campaign, telling men's families to build toilets before marrying off their sons.
Almost half the population have to go to the loo in the open because they have no toilet facilities and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has even spoken out about the issue as part of his Clean India campaign.
Women who do not have private toilet facilities face a security risk while venturing out in the early morning or late at night, with reports of women being assaulted or raped while out searching for somewhere to go to the lavatory.