Updated: 8:55am – For three years, Payal Narayan held on to her bridal trousseau after her wedding was called-off.
She intended to sell her wedding outfit which would have fetched her more than $3,000 however yesterday; she gifted them to the bride to be, Nikita Prasad, who lost all her bridal wear in a fire on Thursday in Nabua which has left 41 people homeless.
On Saturday the two women met in Vatuwaqa where Nikita is residing with her parents at a relative’s house.
Emotional Ms Prasad could not hold back her tears when she received her bridal trousseau. She was overwhelmed when she received a brand new bridal saree with bangles and necklace and other accessories in her hands after she had lost all her outfit in the fire.
22-year-old Ms Narayan had spent over $3,000 to buy the bridal gown with jewellery for her wedding which was planned to happen in 2013 but was called-off. When she read in the Fiji Sun, Friday’s paper, about Nikita’s story, she said she could not hold back her emotions.
“It was my own will to gift Nikita her bridal outfit which I had kept for the last three years,” Ms Narayan said.
“Every girl’s dream is to get married in a very classy way but all of Nikita’s bridal outfits and items were burned in the house fire on Wednesday.
“I felt very emotional when I read in the Fiji Sun yesterday (Friday). I related to her story because I know how emotionally attached a girl gets to her wedding gown. I cried when I read the story and I told myself ‘I will help her no matter what’.
“I spoke to Nikita and came over today because I just want to see her happy and I want her wedding to go without the sorrow of her losing anything.
She said she had faced hardships and learnt about human frailty which prompted her to reach out to provide for the fire victim.
“I had faced a lot of struggles in life and I know how much it hurts to see everything you collect for your big day go down the drain,” Ms Narayan said.
“My wedding was called-off and I don’t want her to face such a situation.
“As a girl, I would not like to see her wedding get postponed or called-off.”
In response Ms Prasad said she could not thank Ms Narayan enough for her generous gift which would be a memory of a lifetime for her.
-Fiji Sun
Featured Image: Payal Narayan (left) gifts her own wedding trousseau to Nabua fire victim, bride-to-be Nikita Prasad on October 21, 2017. Photo: Ashna Kumar
