Geeta's search for groom, just like parents, is turning futile
When Geeta, a speech and hearing impaired girl, returned from Pakistan amid much fanfare, it was suggested she left all her woes across the border. Sadly, this hasn't been the case. For starters, there's still no clue about Geeta's parents, more than two-and-a-half-years after her homecoming. Further, the campaign to find a groom for Geeta hasn't yielded positive results, IE reported.
Geeta's homecoming: The real and reverse 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan'
Geeta returned to India in 2015, over a decade after she drifted to Pakistan. Karachi-based Edhi Foundation, an NGO, took care of Geeta all this while. Her return was touted as real-version of Salman Khan's 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan', only in her case Geeta returned to India from Pakistan. But unlike the movie where Munni's mother welcomed her with open arms, Geeta's parents are still missing.
As her parents remain elusive, groom search is on
Since her return, several families claimed Geeta was theirs, but she didn't recognize anyone. She currently stays at Indore's Deaf Bilingual Academy. While her parents are still elusive, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj announced a groom search for Geeta. In 2017, she promised Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will perform her 'kanyadaan'. But the groom search has also not yielded any results.
Sushma Swaraj had even announced reward for giving clues
"She often gets restless. She desperately wants to be with you. Whoever provides a clue to her parents will get a reward of Rs 1 lakh," Sushma Swaraj had said in a video in 2017. Swaraj keeps a close tab of people Geeta meets.
Geeta wishes to meet prospective grooms
On June 7 and 8, a 'swayamwar' was held to find a groom for Geeta. Out of 14 applicants, only four showed up and Geeta expressed interest in two. Then Geeta said she would like to meet the boys before the academy met their parents. So on June 24, Geeta attended the 'Parichay Sammelan', along with 160 other speech-and-hearing impaired persons.
"She thinks Salman Khan will reunite her with her family"
Out of the two men Geeta selected, one hasn't reciprocated. A city-based sign language expert Gyanendra Purohit said the search would not conclude easily, and that Geeta's expectations have risen. "She often thinks that actor Salman Khan will come one day and unite her with her parents," he said. Another time she said she wouldn't get married till her parents are found.
Many wanted to marry Geeta only for government job, house
The man whom Geeta marries will get a government job and a house. Purohit said some prospective grooms were rejected as they wanted to marry Geeta only because of the perks. Her tutor Monica Punjabi said, they want to find a groom "to give her a family". "We are doing our best to get the best man for the marriage," she said.
Meanwhile, Edhi foundation says Geeta is always welcome there
"It seems she is getting frustrated because the search to locate her parents is getting longer and longer," said Faisal Edhi of the foundation where Geeta lived. He hopes the search for the groom comes to an end soon. Further, he said she was always welcome in the foundation but added she loved India and may not return back.
