After 900 funerals, 52 weddings

‘‘Riots or no riots, the union of husband and wife is decreed by the Almighty, nothing can prevent it,’’ beamed newly wed Yasin Vhora.

Shirin and her family fled from their home in Mehemdavad and took refuge for a day at her prospective in-laws’ home in Anand before moving to the camp.

‘‘The alliances were fixed much before the riots, but many marriages had to be cancelled since the families fled their homes,’’ said camp organiser M.G. Gujarati. ‘‘The mass marriage eased the burden as well as the worry of the concerned families’’.

‘‘At least, my father will have one member less to worry about. I have got a house to stay in now’’ said Shirin shyly. But her mother-in-law, Salma Vhora, was a wee bit regretful that her oldest son could not be married in style. ‘‘But under the present circumstances, neither could we afford a grand ceremony nor would it have looked appropriate,’’ said Salma.

The camp organisers had arranged for the brides’ trousseau — comprising seven salwar kameezes, Rs 100 in cash, a pressure cooker, a Quran Sharif and a prayer mat. While the brides were clad in their colourful best, all the 52 grooms turned out in white kurta-pyjamas.

Donors also did their bit, pitching in for the wedding trousseau or with utensils. Bihar-based Maulana Akhtar Hussain paid the mehr amount on behalf of all bridegrooms. And Anand’s Congress leader Mafat Bharwad gifted each couple a cooker. ‘‘At least for a couple of days, the marriages helped us forgot our misery,’’ says Sadiqbhai.