Bride calls off wedding after groom fails to count notes

An Indian bride recently called off her wedding during the wedding ceremony after the groom failed to count a few 10 rupee notes.

It is no secret that marriages in the subcontinent are not merely a matter of choice and love. Rather, it is a contract between people of (usually) similar backgrounds social classes, values, and lifestyles who can relate to each other’s experiences as they work together to carry on their family and family names.

This often-subconscious bias towards people of one’s social and economic class usually extends to education as well. Even though the older generation in the subcontinent will tell you not to walk into a marriage with any pre-set expectations, everyone has some idea of what they want their future spouse to be able to do. Most people prefer to marry people who have at least the same level of education. Especially young women, these days, shy away from the idea of marrying guys who have poorer education for a number of reasons.

A recent incident in Uttar Pradesh, India highlights this idea. The bride, Rita Singh of Farrukhabad, simply could not stand the idea that her husband-to-be had lousy math skills and as soon as she confirmed that the groom’s math skills were a bit subpar when he failed to count a few 10 rupee notes, she called off her wedding.

When the ceremony’s priest informed the bride and her family that he thought the groom was not able to do basic math, her family decided to test him. They gave him some Rs10 notes and asked him to count them.

However, the groom did not understand the assignment and failed to prove his mettle — or math.

The 21-year-old bride then stormed out of the ceremony and announced that she could not marry the man.

The bride’s family later told media outlets that the family had no knowledge of the groom’s “mentally fragile” condition.

The bride-to-be’s brother, while speaking to some reporters, said that because the mediator was a close relative, they believed his account of the groom and did not actually meet the man in person before the day of the ceremony.

“When the priest informed us that he was behaving strangely, we decided to test him. We gave him 30 Rs10 notes to count, which he was unable to do. Rita refused to marry him after learning of his condition.”

Unsurprisingly, the bride’s refusal to marry led to a feud between the two families, and ultimately police had to intervene. The cops tried to get the two families to come to a peaceful agreement, but the bride obdurately stuck to her decision, and the baraat (the wedding party of the groom’s family) returned without a bride for the young man.