My first North Indian marriage…

Soul mates, it is said, are decided in heaven. The celebration of this heavenly match on earth is – marriage. Recently I had the good luck of attending the first north Indian marriage of my life. On 20th January, 2007 Nitin, a close friend of mine wed Adithi. No doubt it was once in a life time day for Nitin – it was an extremely good day for me as well.

What amazes me the most is the diversity that India has. Though we are from the same country and have common beliefs regarding marriage, the way it is conducted in North and south part of India is breathtakingly different and wonderful thing to experience. The basic difference is that in South India marriage start early in the morning (about 4:00 am) and ends in the evening (about 6:00 pm). In north India marriages begin in the evening (about 6:00 pm) and end in the morning (4:00 am). This is as far as the timing is concerned. This is also the tip of an Iceberg.

Once more very big difference was the “Nach Gana” (singing and dancing) part North Indian marriage. The atmosphere is very lively and fun filled. There is a lot of music and people dancing all around. I could see an old man with all his hairs white and hardly able to walk giving his best shot at dancing. Now that’s what I call participation. The marriage atmosphere in south India is much sober. It is also conducted in a very orthodox way. Dancing is less and limited only to the younger lot.

Another difference is the verity of food available. Everything from milk, tea, coffee, Horlicks, Roti, Kulcha, Raita, fried brinjal, Jalebi, rasgula, Ice cream, Rice, bhaji was available for the taking. North Indians seem to just love food. This is one more common thing that I share with north Indians.

There were some funny traditions that I happened to see. One such tradition is called as “Jaymala”. Here the bride and the bridegroom are supposed to exchange garlands. The fun part is that when the bride is trying garland the groom, the groom’s friend make a lot of fuss over it. They act as if they do not want the groom to get married away and a lot of fun and frolic happens. Ultimately the groom and his friends relent and the bride put garland over the groom. The same refusal game is played by the bride’s friends when the groom tries to garland the bride. It’s an extremely funny thing to watch – I loved seeing it.

Another such thing is when the couple starts to have food. The bride’s friends and sisters literally surround the groom. They have some fun with the groom by giving “sweet dishes”. The funny part is that the so called sweet dishes have salt in them instead of sugar!!!! It is not done is a dry and customary way, but it done in a very lively way with a lot of fun and enthusiasm. You must see it to know what I am telling.

One more funny tradition is that the bride sister’s try to steal the groom’s shoes. The groom along with his friends keeps a close watch on his shoes. They try their level best to “protect” it from the bride’s sisters. In case the bride’s sisters are successful in stealing the shoes, the groom will have to “pay” to get bay his own shoes from them. Funny – right??

The way that North Indians conduct marriages might be vastly different from that of south India. But, the common this is the good will everyone has for the newly weds. By following different traditions and ways the only thing they wish is that the couples live happily ever after. I too wish the same…:-)