Brides Walk In A Procession During A Mass Marriage Arranged For Poor Couples In India

Relatives and onlookers watch from an enclosure a mass community marriage in Bahirkhand, about 70 kilometers (44 miles) north of Kolkata, India, Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013. A total of 108 couples from the economically weaker sections of the society belonging to various religions, faith and caste tied the knot in front of their family members at the mass marriage organized by a social organization Sunday. Mass marriages in India are organized by social organizations primarily to help the economically backward families who cannot afford the high ceremony costs as well as the customary dowry and expensive gifts that are still prevalent in many communities.

Indian brides walk in a procession as well wishers shower flower petals on them during a mass community marriage in Bahirkhand, about 70 kilometers (44 miles) north of Kolkata, India, Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013.

A couple, background, sits as their elder relatives perform a ritual a mass community marriage in Bahirkhand, about 70 kilometers (44 miles) north of Kolkata, India, Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013. <AP Photo/Bikas Das>