Change Of Plans
When the young woman had heard what her father did, she was at a loss for words. Tears were pouring down her cheeks. All her plans for the wedding were scrapped.
The ceremony she had dreamed of and planned for months was canned. Her father decided not to spend any money on the wedding anymore. What made him do this?
Devoted Father
Manoj Munot was a loving Indian father who would do anything for his family. He had worked all his life to build his fortune and eventually became a billionaire.
This allowed him to accomplish his children's wishes no matter how crazy they were. That's why he was about to spend an incredible amount on his daughter's wedding. But then the unthinkable happened.
His Daughter Fell In Love
Shreya Munot from Aurangabad, India, had fallen in love during her teenage years, her relationship blossoming into something beautiful and strong.
Being a billionaire's father, she was always careful when picking the people she surrounded herself with. Still, when she met Ishaan, she knew he was the one. He was kind and loved her for who she was and not her money.
Perfect Couple
Shreya's father eventually accepted the boy, but it took him some time. Like all fathers, he wanted what was best for his daughter.
Manoj welcomed the thought of Ishaan becoming his son-in-law one day. He realized that they loved each other very much, and he wanted to do his best to support their love. But would he still make the same choice when his fortune was at stake?
Promising Her The Perfect Wedding
When Shreya finally decided to get married, Manoj promised her the perfect wedding. Today, many girls dream of having a giant, lavish wedding when they meet the ideal person.
Shreya was no different, except for the fact that her father was a billionaire business tycoon in India, so she had every opportunity to make her wedding luxurious. Or so she thought.
11 Million Dollars
Shreya's father, Manoj Munot, wanted his little girl's dream to come true on her wedding day, so he had saved an incredible $11 million to make her special day as grand as she could imagine.
This was every girl's dream. And the crazy amount of money meant that she could have pretty much any kind of wedding she wanted.
Planning The Wedding
Shreya had everything she needed and more to plan her perfect wedding with Ishaan. So she began working hard, taking care of every little detail of the ceremony.
The young woman didn't consider one major aspect - her father's temperamental personality. He was a calculated man when it came to business, but he was known for letting emotions get the best of him when it came to family.
Her Father Helps
In the end, Manoj seemed to have calmed down. Or so his family thought. He began contributing to the wedding plans and helped her daughter in any way she needed.
The father used his connections and made sure that her daughter had the venue she wanted and every aspect of the wedding taken care of. But in reality, he was starting to have doubts about the whole thing.
He Had Doubts
Manoj kept a smile on his face throughout the whole process of wedding planning, but his heart wasn't in the right place.
The father was having doubts about the wedding, especially the financial aspect of it. At that point, he was conflicted between his daughter's happiness and doing what he believed was right. What would he choose in the end?
Changing His Mind
Manoj had gathered all his family. His daughter was so preoccupied with the planning that she didn't even notice her father's terrible state. He didn't know how to best give this news to his daughter.
When they heard what the man had to say, the family members were all shocked. Shreya was in tears. She couldn't believe he could do something like this.
Surprise Gift
11 million dollars is a huge sum. This kind of money could have given Shreya a gorgeous, over-the-top wedding that could feed thousands of people. But her father had other plans.
She received quite a surprise when Manoj told her that he had changed his mind and that he would be putting the money he had saved for her wedding towards a different cause. He wanted to build homes for the homeless instead.
90 Homes
The couple was able to give a precious gift that meant more than any wedding ceremony: they gave 90 families a key to their new home.
While the homes were small, they were incredible gifts for the families who had spent years living with makeshift roofs over their heads in the district's slum areas. They also finally had access to essential utilities such as electricity and running water.
Conditions
Manoj reportedly set three criteria people had to meet to be given a house. They needed to be poor, live in a slum, and not suffer from an addiction.
According to a research paper written by Pranita Pranjale-Bokankar in 2014, around 38% of Aurangabad city's people lived in slums, and the census in 2011 reported that the population of the city was over 1 million.
A Big Problem
However, in the last decade, India's cities, such as Aurangabad, have faced a sharp rise in population due to urbanization as people from rural areas migrate for better jobs. The current population may be much larger than what was reported in 2011.
Compared to the number of people that need homes in India, 90 may seem like a small number. However, for the 90 people that had finally received these homes, their lives had significantly changed.
The Perfect Ceremony
Manoj's generous gift to the poor people, as well as his daughter's sacrifice, are something that profoundly and positively affected hundreds of lives when they heard about the story.
This was a beautiful example and hopefully will inspire other wealthy citizens to use their money for a better cause than a lavish wedding. At least, that's what Shreya's family hopes. In order to protect the privacy of those depicted, some names, locations, and identifying characteristics have been changed and are products of the author's imagination. Any resemblances to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.