We all know legends of St. Valentine; the priest who is popular as the patron of lovers. Valentine was served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Thus, we celebrate Valentine’s Day on the fourteenth of every February.

How is this story relevant to us, here in the 21st century? Well, there are plenty of couples in the poorer sections of our society who are unable to legally wed because of the most obvious reason – poverty. Marriage ceremonies are an expensive deal, no matter which cadre of the social hierarchy one belongs to, hence, there are plenty of problems associated with the same. In India, dowry system is one of the greatest evils. The father of the bride is expected to give the groom’s parents a hefty amount of money, lands, automobiles, furniture or gold. This is nearly impossible for families that are below poverty line, leading to suicides, dowry deaths, loans and so on. Another major issue is the ceremony itself and the rituals to follow, Indian weddings are pretty exuberant, so it is a must to serve a variety of drinks and food, hire a grand hall, deck the couple in the best clothes and jewels and treat wedding guests like royalty.

Weddings are supposed to be all about love and new beginnings, instead misery, poverty and death rear their ugly heads. Weary and desperate fathers look out for loans with high interest rates that they cannot repay. Hopeful new brides suffer horrifying deaths because their families cannot pay the expected dowry. Some households even resort to female infanticide and foeticide, fearing the huge expenses a daughter would bring to them someday. These cruel facts stare us in the eye each day on the television and newspapers. Stand by us as we reach out to them and give the victims a helping hand before it is too late.