Lockdown love: UP driver finds wife in beggars’ file

Faiz.Siddiqui@timesgroup.com

Kanpur:  25.05.2020

One wedding amid the pandemic lockdown has become talkof thetown.No,itwasn’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 diedlong 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.Butithad a silver lining too. During lockdown, Anil used to come every day with his employer to distribute food to the poor,” she added.

“Anil 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 amidlockdown with me.Hefellin love with Neelam, who used to beg ”

Full report on www.toi.in

Anil and Neelam got married at an ashram while maintaining social distancing norms