‘Noble’: Kerala man runs ‘free’ wedding dress bank to help brides from poor families

The wedding is the most important event in a bride’s life. She wants to look her best and wear the most gorgeous and distinctive wedding gown she can find. Unfortunately, not every bride, particularly in India, can afford a bridal gown. However, a guy in Kerala is assisting those brides.

Nasar Thootha, a taxi driver from Thootha village in the Malappuram district of Kerala, India’s southern state, has been running a ‘wedding dress bank’ to help underprivileged ladies look lovely on their wedding day.

According to an Al Jazeera article, the man has already aided over 260 poor brides by providing them with a free wedding gown. Thootha distributes saris, ankle-length skirts, and gowns that have been donated by privileged families to ladies of low resources.

The 44-year-old, who recently returned from Saudi Arabia, utilised WhatsApp and Facebook to ask friends and family to donate their unwanted wedding gowns to the cause. Many individuals contributed their bridal gowns, and Thootha got dozens of hefty packets, many of which were delivered anonymously, on his doorstep.

“Wedding attires are all about vanity. They are worn for a few hours and then never come out of the cupboards. Realising this, many families came forward to support our cause,” Thootha told Al Jazeera.

He dry-cleaned all of the outfits and stored them in airtight containers after receiving them. The brides contacted him over Facebook and then went to the bank to select a dress. His dress bank currently includes 800 wedding garments, including sarees, lehengas, and gowns, that range in price from Rs 5,000 to Rs 50,000 and are suitable for Hindu, Muslim, and Christian weddings.

“With God’s grace, I personally don’t have to invest any money in running the dress bank. I am just a channel through which women who need them most receive them from kind donors,” Thootha said. He used to work for governmental agencies rehabilitating the impoverished and homeless before this period.