Giselle’ Diary

The whole hungama of a South Indian Marriage! May 24, 2008

The girl is 21 years old.. and all of a sudden people begin “enquiring” about her – what she has studied, if she is still studying, what her age is, where her parents are and their occupations, whether she has any siblings… blah blah blah!

Matchmaking goes on as she racks her head to be thorough with the portions that have to be covered for her semester exams.. Her parents are suddenly overwhelmed by proposals both from within India and abroad and pictures of boys – some who look like they could be over 35 years but whose portfolio (which is the other funny thing.. A Biodata!! Can you believe that?! There actually is a biodata which is prepared to be exchanged to the bride/groom’ parents with which you have to select the better one from!!!) says he is only 26!!! Now, could that be possible?! Apart from the very few who actually look “suitable”, most are just unbearable!!  You could say that seeing these wedding sites literally makes the bride cry!!! (The same is true vice-versa also.. Ive seen some girls pictures too.. n OMG!!! I cant believe who they actually go through the humility of having their pictures published in such a property-to-be-owned manner!!! Sad for the guys thereI should say… but well, since Im a girl, Im gonna talk from the “she” point of view…)

Once the “appropriate” guy is “shortlisted” (which is in NO way an easy task!!), they come over to the girl’ house to “see” the girl.. Now, here is when the girl decks herself in jewellery and a saree and serves tea… And if both parties are okay, the to-be-wedded ”children” talk while the elders discuss about how, when and where the wedding must take place..

After this, the boy and the girl are allowed to talk over the phone which is kind of the maximum contact they have befre they “tie the knot”! These days, they are allowed to meet up and talk directly, privately to each other too.. (and I must say that IS good). Soon enough the engagement and marriage is fixed!!!

I by the way know of a girl who when I was studying in the hostel, went home with a cold and came back after a week, a married lady! It was all of a sudden!!! Believe me, we were all sooo surprised!!! Everything happened in the span of a week!!!! Yes! JUST ONE SINGLE WEEK!!! But, well ,everyone’ happy and there’ no problem there 🙂 So, thats also goooood ! 😉

Now, since I have not attended any other religion other than Hindu marriages, I guess I shall talk about that only..

Now, after all the arrangements are made, comes the PREPARATIONS!!!

Woah!! Now, this is another handful!!! Firstly, there is the maintenance of the house to be done – mending of broken pipes, fixing of air conditionings, tightening the bolts of the various windows and doors, building whole new segments of the existing house..etc… Then there is the painting which throws up enough and more dust for someone with no respiratory disease to even develop some disorder like asthma!! Painting includes selection of a paint from a pamphlet of more than a thousand colours!!! No. Im NOT kidding!! There are just the colours of the VIBGYOR, but once it is differentiated into various hues and tones, innumerable shades of colours emerge!!! The worst part is that it is one thing to see it on a card and a totally other thing to see it painted on your walls!!

After the painting is done, there is the re-arrangement of furnitures to be done and the duting, sweeping, swabbing and finally the house is cleaned up.. Now, maybe with an extra touch here by adding new furnitures or the discarding of some old ones and a small touch there by maybe a change in curtains and an addition of extra throw-cushions makes the house more homely…

Next comes jewellery.. Now, for a Hindu wedding, you HAVE to be wearing LOTS of gold jewellery!!! In my personal opinion, it just makes one look not that great in the end!!! But well, thats the custom..

Then we have the card printing which is such a confusion wen we go to the card shop and are literally assaulted with the variety of cards kept on show there that it takes quite some time to figure out which to choose…  ( n this card which the family chooses with such careful deliberation, is not kept by anyone else other than for the immediate family alone… that is the most sad thing of all.. esp card selection. .when you look and search and find a card you like and you invite your dear and near with it.. and for all you know, they could use it as paper to clean animal shit or else maybe just to wrap their food or well, even rubbish…!!! Some cards are so elaborate you wonder why they went to the trouble of actually paying such a high amount for something that is anyway going to be thrown by others!!!)

These days, there are extra traditions being followed such as mehendi and sangeet the day before and then an elaborate dinner with the DJ still rock n roll’ing.. and a very huge reception after the wedding and dancing and singing.. Even bachelor parties are being much more Westernised!!!  In earlier days, the marriage was simple.. the bride and the groom’ parents met, arranged and discussed and got them married off.. Then they lived together.. making compromises and adjusting to each other…  But now, the elaborate-ness of the entire affair is just too much to bear!! n whats worse is that its keeping on getting more and more elaborate only!!!

more c.o.n.t.d. later on…