Ranchi: Three years after builder Prem Kumar Gupta of Kishoreganj here welcomed his divorced daughter back home with ‘band-baaja’, the news of retired Meerut judge Gyanendra Kumar Sharma doing something similar for his daughter last week stirred an old memory and a sense of vindication.“For me, it was like reliving that day,” Gupta told. TOI on Wednesday. “Some people didn’t approve of what we did. They spoke about society, of norms. But when I read about a learned judge doing the same, I felt I was not wrong.”His conviction remains simple and deeply personal. “Every parent must realize that a daughter is not a liability,” he said.Three years later, Sakshi Gupta’s family said that the decision to stand by her has brought peace, healing and a fresh beginning. In Feb, Sakshi remarried — to a Delhi-based man — and her father said that she has found happiness again.The match was found through a matrimonial portal. Sakshi, a fashion designer, chose to marry a divorcee, believing that two people who had both seen difficult phases in life might understand each other better.“She chose to give herself a second chance, and we were very happy. They are happy. Just a few days back, they returned from a bike trip to Ladakh,” Gupta said.Sakshi has also opened a boutique from her residence in Delhi, something her father said reflects her determination to remain independent. “She always wanted to stand on her own feet, even after marriage,” he said.Gupta recalled that Sakshi’s first marriage had begun to unravel almost immediately. The alliance had come through family contacts, and on paper, it seemed reassuring. The groom was a state government employee in a good position. But behind that promise, Gupta said, lay a painful reality.“Soon we came to know she was facing harassment,” he said. The family later learned that Sakshi’s former husband had relationships with other women and had even been divorced earlier — facts they were unaware of at the time of marriage.Gupta said it was his mother who gave him the courage to choose his daughter over societal pressure. “She told me to do what was right,” he recalled. “As a family, we then decided that if our daughter was coming back, she would come back with dignity.”
