Indian diamond trader funds mass wedding for fatherless brides

An Indian woman helps a bride before a mass wedding in Surat, India, Sunday, Dec. 24, 2017. 251 young couples tied the knot at the mass wedding hosted by Indian diamond trader Mahesh Savani, who has been funding the weddings of fatherless women in the city of Surat for several years. Weddings in India are expensive affairs with the bride's family traditionally expected to pay the groom a large dowry of cash and gifts. Hundreds of people, mostly family members and neighbors of the couple, are hosted at lavish meals over a number of days adding to the costs. [Photo: AP/Ajit Solanki]