Bhumata foundation, Indian activist

Pune, June 27 Once dreaded by the managements of temples, mausoleums and other places of worship for storming their sanctum sanctorum to give equal rights of worship to women, Maharashtras aggressive gender activist Trupti Desai has now donned a new, gentle role.This time, she's virtually playing ‘Cupid' for lovelorn but poor girls, barred by financial constraints from getting married, especially during the havoc wreaked by Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown of the past 16 months."When my teams were moving around helping deprived families all over Maharashtra during the pandemic, we learnt of many poor families facing problems of getting their daughters married," Desai, 36, who is President of the Bhumata Foundation, Pune, told in a freewheeling chat.One case from Gadchiroli was particularly disturbing, a 26-year-old girl with a minor eye defect, unable to get wedded, her parents were simple tribals and farm labourers earning barely Rs 80 daily, with a debt of Rs 10,000 on the family, with no help from any quarters in the Maoist-infested region.After identifying her problems and similar others, Desai approached a Pune realtor, Yuvraj Dhamale Corp's leading lights - Yuvraj S. Dhamale and his wife Vaishnavi Dhamale."The Dhamales readily agreed to team up with Bhumata Foundation in this genuine social cause - the company would sponsor the basic wedding costs of the couples weaned through our huge network of field activists," Desai smiled.Since January, the Bhumata Foundation & Yuvraj Dhamale Corp carefully picked around 10 such girls from Nanded, Parbhani, Latur, Amravati, Satara, Kolhapur and Gadchiroli, and provided them Rs 15,000 to cover the basic costs for an unostentatious marriage."We aim to help the really needy enter into wedlock with a simple ceremony, with a few invitees as per the pandemic norms, yet make it a memorable affair for all," Dhamale added, as they prepare for another 10 weddings over the next two to three weeks.Instead of going around shopping for the wedding necessities for the beneficiaries, Desai and the Dhamales simply deposit Rs 15,000 into the families' bank accounts and leave them undisturbed to make their own purchases, preparations and the nuptials."For the Gadchiroli girl, we went a step ahead. We provided her Rs 15,000 for the wedding and also another Rs 10,000 to clear the family's loans... Their joy knew no bounds and now they lead a happy life, free of the debt burden," Desai said.Among the pairs married off so far include one handicapped girl, one with the defective eye, four Muslim couples, and one orphan, for whom the local Bhumata Foundation office-bearers happily performed the auspicious ‘Kanya Daan'.To a question on what she liked to do more - storming places of worship or arranging marriages for girls from the most deprived sections of society - the stormy petrel pauses before replying."The agitation in temples or mausoleums was for equal worship rights for women, which was denied to them for centuries. However, helping these economically weak girls to get married to boys of their choice is probably a higher kind of ‘punya'Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

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International :Maharashtra’s ‘Temple Trooper Trupti’ plays Cupid for poor girls

Pune, June 27 Once dreaded by the managements of temples, mausoleums and other places of worship for storming ... ...