The boy loves girl, girl loves boy, parents disagree, so they elope and live happily ever after! And while they elope, the couples have no tension whatsoever! Here are some points that get dropped from the real to reel scripts.
It takes courage to elope, and once you do you can not go back, this goes double for girls in India.
Some parents may even consider killing the couple up, to save the “Honour” of the family, in process becoming murderers, and how that is honourable is a big question for me.
However, once you have decided to elope, thinking it would be fun to do so, there are few points you should keep in mind, else you will be left very dissatisfied with the adventure.
Check your age.
There is no use in eloping, even if one of you is underage, for you won’t be able to marry anyway, till you attend the maturity age, which is 18 for Girls and 21 for boys.
Be familiar with law.
The better you know register marriage law, better are your chances of planning your steps, there are different laws for different types of marriages, inter-caste, inter-religion, and even for different religions (where bride and groom are of same religion).
Plan your exit from the city.
Where do you think it would be safe for you to go, how much time will you have on your hand before complain is filled with police, and how are you going to travel.
Don’t use your current vehicle.
If using a bike/car as a gate away vehicle, you will be easily traced and caught by your number plate, same goes for your best friends vehicle. Easy way out, selloff your current bike, that will lead police on a wild goose chase, while you buy a second hand bike, with all papers, owners signature et all, but don’t transfer it on your name immediately.
Use cash, and have cash.
Don’t even think of using plastic money, use cash and only cash, even though you are using cash, police will still know how much cash you are carrying, if you have only one source. So its better to pool your resources, let your friends use your credit card and debit card while you take cash from them. A large debit from your own account can arouse suspicion, so manage using alternate means. Also if your friends go off to some place and use your card, it will lead police to that place, which can serve as a warning to you.
Drop your smart phones, drop your old sim cards.
Get new numbers, not on your own name for both and new phones, no frill phones. Stay off the social networking sites, do not even login into your email accounts, drop of the radar, the modern underground.
Don’t stay anywhere more than 24 hours.
You can stay with your friends from other cities, or people you know, but not for long, don’t let people other than your friends get to know more about you.
Don’t leave a trail.
After, changing vehicle, handsets, not logging in, not showing your face to many people, still word of mouth trail can be caught by tracers. Don’t tell your host, where will you be heading next. The easiest way of doing this is not knowing where you will be going next, yourself.
Witness to testify for the knot.
Witness, of marriageable age should be ready to sign on the registration, and you have to consider their safety too.
First & Last but not the least, be sure you both want to elope.
There should not be a change of mind, of any of the two, and marriage should be the aim for both, for in case anyone backs out the other is left high and dry to be hanged. Girl will have no place to go, while boy will be in jail for abducting a girl and trying to force her to marry her, along with witness, plus a caution for witnesses, if the girl breaks up her marriage with the boy by saying she was forced too, even after some months, the law will put you in jail too as co-conspirators. So it is important that witness also be sure that pair are perfect for each other.
Have a plan.
Have a plan, or a source of income in the new adopted home city, to start a family, be ready for a worse case scenario, that is, you may never be able to go back.
And last point for the witness, pray they live happily ever after.
PS: The author is co-conspirator of 2 eloped marriages, and had planed his own, but fortunately didn’t had to elope, and now every morning prays the other 2 couple live happily ever after.
