Dowry is an undying issue in our country and no one can deny it including the bride’s parents. As we sit here wondering about how parents weigh an illogical demand over their own daughter’s life, another woman of an extremely high caliber falls prey to this age old system of dowry. Back in 2013, Divya, a 22-year-old Chartered Accountant met her husband Elan Cheran while the families set up an arranged wedding for the two.

Divya was told by Cheran’s parents that all they wanted was a great daughter-in-law like her. Like any other woman who would’ve been swept off by those words, she and her family were in absolute agreement with the match. Elan’s family had denied dowry during the initial time of wedding preparations as well.

Elan was a well-settled doctor which excited the family further.But as the wedding date neared, things started changing dramatically. Elan Cheran’s family started making demands, and though they were a little taken aback, Divya’s family agreed to give them what they wanted, for the sake of their daughter’s future.

They gave Elan Cheran’s family 100 sovereigns of gold, Rs 15 lakh for a car, Rs 30 lakh cash and 5 kg of silver as a dowry, Divya’s brother Prekumar says. “But Elan Cheran’s mother was not happy with it,” he adds.