Shortage in brides drives men to look farther afield

When Sadhuram Berwal wanted to get married, his family went about it in the traditional Indian way, asking relatives, neighbors and temple priests to suggest a young woman. But after an extensive search among women of his caste in his area, no suitable bride was found.

A larger factor had narrowed the field sharply - a skewed male-female ratio that is particularly pronounced in his home state of Haryana, in India's north, due to sexselective abortions in a society where many families prize boys over girls, mostly for economic reasons.

Through a friend, Berwal eventually found a woman 2,700 kilometers to the south, in the state of Kerala, who was willing to marry him.