Ahmedabad, April 26: FOR 27-year-old Sheela Patel, Saturday was the happiest day of her life. Blinded at the young age of four after a prolonged illness, Sheela had given up on ever finding her ‘Mr Right’. But on Saturday, Sheela and three other visually impaired girls of the Andh Kanya Shala, Memnagar, not only met their match but also tied the knot.

‘‘We belong to lower middle class families and could never have dreamt of such a grand wedding with so many guests and gifts. This is undoubtedly the happiest day in my life and a memory I will cherish forever,’’ says 27-year-old Ramila Vankar, who was born with the disability. Ramila married Sailesh Vanaravandas who owns an STD booth. The spouses of all the four girls are visually challenged as well since the girls insisted on someone who would understand their limitations.

But the wedding itself had no such limitations. From ‘mehendi rasam’ to ‘haldi rasam’, there was lots of singing and dancing, with the celebrations having begun on Friday itself at the school. Apart from organising the wedding, the school authorities and the trust that runs the school gifted the girls with a family kit, which includes household items, furniture and clothes.

The weddings were attended by at least 200-odd people. ‘‘Everybody is so excited and happy. While someone applied henna on our hands and feet, the other girls sang songs and danced. We had the ‘haldi ceremony’ yesterday and today, we even had professional beauticians come and dress us up for the wedding. It’s more like a dream,’’ says 29-year-old Hansa Jadav, who’s been blinded since the age of six. Hansa tied the knot with Ramchandra Vasava.

Rina Thakkar, who is 25-years-old, got married to Mansukh Patodia who is employed with a private firm. ‘‘We girls have known each other for so long and we together underwent the training for visually impaired. It is so nice to get married on the same day and at the same time,’’ says Rina. It was actually Anjaliben Bakrania, a matron at the school, and Aruna Patel, who did the match-making. ‘‘Like all young girls, these girls, too, dream of a happy married life and a family but at the same time, because they belong to lower middle class families and understand their limitations,’’ said Anjaliben.