Bharathinagar; Over 70 bachelors, aged above 30, from K.M. Doddi village near Mandya have begun a three-day ‘Brahmacharigala Padayatre’ (bachelors’ march) to Male Mahadeshwara Temple (M.M. Hills) in Chamarajanagar seeking God’s help in finding a match for their marriage.

The march was flagged off by Kannada actor Daali Dhananjaya in the wee hours of yesterday from Shri Lakshmi Venkateshwara Temple, K.M. Doddi. These men say that they have been forced to remain single as no girl is willing to tie the knot with them as they hail from agrarian families and are settled in villages though they have vast lands and fields.

“All girls prefer men who are well educated and are settled in cities. Moreover, the craze to obtain a male child has decreased the population of women and we are seeing the effects of that change now. The population of girls is limited and most of the girls who have reached the marriage age are migrating to either Mysuru or Bengaluru in search of jobs and city-based grooms,” 33-year-old D.P. Mallesh, one of the organisers, said.

Even parents of the girls, also from agrarian families, feel that a farmer’s income is not enough for a man to lead a comfortable life. The parents feel that marrying their daughters to men from the city will secure their future as they have a stable income working in a Government or private firm, the bachelors complained.

The men, accompanied by loudspeaker-attached publicity vehicles, flags and posters, will cover 105 km on foot to reach M.M. Hills on Feb. 25. In his address, actor Dhananjaya pointed out the lack of brides for young farmers who live in villages and are engaged in farming. Many bachelor boys have large tracts of land and gain good income. Still, they are unable to find brides, he regretted.

“It is unfortunate that the craze to beget male children for many decades has resulted in this trend now. All want male babies and, in this situation, where will they go in search of brides when they reach marriage age,” he questioned. 

This padayatra should create awareness about the challenges being faced by youths involved in farming, he added. What began as a small idea among a group of friends became a huge campaign through social media, attracting many bachelors.

“We have started with 70 men and we are expecting over 250 men when we reach the M.M. Hills as not only Mandya, many villages of the region are experiencing a dearth of girls,” said K.M. Shivaprasad, another bachelor and the walkathon organiser.

“We want to drive home the point that the male-female sex ratio is important for a healthy society. Many men, who remain bachelors even after crossing 30 years of age, are a depressed lot and they become objects of ridicule. While some are driven to suicide, many run away to cities unable to bear the family pressure to find a girl,” Shivaprasad said.

“It’s not just marriage, some men are seeking good fortune and a good harvest, while there are others who are seeking God’s help to resolve personal troubles,” he added.