All fathers send off their daughters with great fanfare after the wedding but a father in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur brought his daughter home after her divorce with a band in tow.
"We brought her back just like we had sent her off after her wedding. We want her to begin afresh with her chin up," said her father Anil Kumar, who works for BSNL. Anil's daughter Urvi, 36, an engineer at the Palam Airport in New Delhi, was married to a computer engineer in 2016. The couple lived in Delhi and had a daughter.
Dowry allegations against in-laws
Allegations are that Urvi's in-laws were harassing her for dowry after which she moved court for a divorce. The court granted the couple a divorce on February 28. "I tried hard to save the relationship after enduring eight years of torture, beatings, and taunts, but in the end, it broke down," she said.
"While bringing her back home, I made arrangements for 'band baaja' so that a positive message would be sent to the society and people would try and understand their daughters rather than ignore them after marriage," Anil said.
'It is a great feeling'
Urvi's mother Kusumlata said, "I look forward to being with my daughter and granddaughter. And it is a great feeling."
"Initially, we thought Urvi was getting married a second time. But when we understood her father's intent, it was an overwhelming feeling," said Indrabhan Singh, a neighbour. Meanwhile, Urvi appreciated her parents' gesture and said that she would take a break before beginning afresh.
