Your friend's parents must chip in for sure. I am more curious about the betrothal money he has to pay.
Should follow the dowry system of the upper caste Indians and let the bride's family paid a price to the groom for sacrificing his freedom. Instead, Sinkies descended from low SES coolies decided to follow the practice of the lower caste Indians and pay "brideprice" to the bride's family (for what arh?):
"Dowry also varies by economic strata in India.
Upper-class families are more likely to engage in the dowry system than the lower class. This could be in part due to women's economic exclusion from the
labor market in upper classes.
[7][26]
When dowry evolved in the
Vedic period, it was essentially followed by the upper
castes to benefit the bride, who was unable to inherit property under
Hindu law.
[35][36] To counter this,
the bride's family provided the groom with dowry which would be registered in the bride's name.
[37] This dowry was seen as
stridhan (Sanskrit: woman's property).
[38] Also, an important distinction is the fact that
while the upper castes practiced dowry, the lower castes practiced bride price to compensate her family for the loss of income.
[36][39]
In the modern era, the concept of dowry has evolved and Indian families no longer practice the traditional
Vedic concept of dowry.
[40] This is because with the passage of time,
bride price gradually disappeared and dowry became the prevalent form of transfer.
[41] In the modern era, the practice of dowry requires the bride's family to transfer goods to the groom's family in consideration for the marriage."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowry_system_in_India