A bride-to-be in India has refused to go ahead with her wedding, after she discovered that the groom had weak eyesight and uses glasses to read newspaper.
The wedding was set to take place in Auraiya, in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
It was, however, called off at the last minute, when it became clear the would-be husband could not see clearly without his eyeglasses.
According to The Times of India, the marriage appeared to have been arranged by the families involved.
The bride’s family reportedly paid a dowry to the groom, which included cash and a motorcycle.
South Asian news agency, ANI, identified the bride as Archana of Jamalpur village in the Sadar Kotwali area, and the groom as Shivam of Banshi village.
The report also said the nuptials were carefully arranged and the couple matched with reference to the young man’s educational background and social status.
The plans were laid and the wedding day came, but over the course of the day, the bride and the women in her family noticed that Shivam was wearing glasses.
Due to the growing suspicion surrounding it, Archana’s family decided to perform a test.
For the test, they asked Shivam to read a newspaper without wearing his glasses.
The report said the groom could not read without his glasses, forcing the bride’s family to decide unanimously to call off the ceremony, as they were unaware of the groom’s weak eyesight until the wedding day.
Shivam arrived as part of a “baraat” – a traditional procession where the groom rides a mare – according to Gulf News.
“When the baraat came to the house on June 20, the groom was wearing spectacles all the time. We asked him to take off his spectacles and read a Hindi newspaper but he could not. My daughter refused to marry him,” Arjun Singh, the bride’s father, said.
“I had no idea that the groom’s eyesight was so weak. My daughter, on knowing the fact, decided to call off the marriage.”
Following the decision to call off the wedding, the bride’s family demanded the return of the dowry, including the motorcycle and the expenses they incurred in arranging the marriage.
When the groom’s family refused, the bride’s family lodged a complaint with the local police station.
According to Singh, the police tried to deal with the matter amicably, but were unable to do so as the groom’s family did not show up to reach an agreement.
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