Kanpur driver finds life partner in beggars’ file

Anil and Neelam
KANPUR: One wedding amid the pandemic lockdown has become talk of the town. No, it wasn’t a big fat wedding, nor was it a celebrity wedding.

It’s the wedding of Neelam, a beggar, and Anil, a driver, which started from the scratch during lockdown and has become a rage on social media.

Their love story blossomed in the 60 days of lockdown. Anil used to distribute food during lockdown on the instructions of his employer, when one day he met Neelam who was begging on a footpath near Neer Sheer crossing in Kakadeo ara of the city.

Revealing how the fairytale began and unfolded, Neelam told TOI, “My father died long ago. My mother suffered a paralysis stroke. Brother and sister-in-law used to beat me up and one day they threw me and my mother out of the house.”

“As we had nothing, I started begging on the footpath with others. The lockdown made life even more miserable. But it had a silver lining too. During lockdown, Anil used to come every day with his employer to distribute food to the poor,” she added.

Anil gave free food to poor & fell in love with Neelam

“A nil started talking to me when he came to know about my circumstances. And then one day, he convinced me to give up begging. We started interacting daily, and developed a friendship which blossomed into love. He then proposed to me and we took got married at an ashram while maintaining social distancing,” Neelam said.

Anil’s employer Lalta Prasad, a realtor, told TOI, “Anil used to distribute food to poor and needy amid lockdown with me. He fell in love with the girl Neelam, who used to beg. He told me about her. I told him to take care of her and her mother and provide them food every day. Then Anil himself started cooking food and giving it to the girl and her mother. I somehow persuaded his father to agree to their marriage. By the grace of God, both are happy.”

The wedding was solemnised at Lord Buddha Ashram on Thursday while maintaining social distancing and was graced by several social activists.