Weddings are all about the extravagance.
One would like to think they would be proportionate to the income, but very often they are not.
From here on what I write is specific to the Hindu northern half of India marriages.
Amidst all the splendour, the festivity, of one tends to overlook a little event.
The ceremony itself.
But then, how relevant is it really?
I sometimes wonder, why must it happen?
After all, I know of not a person who has understood the Sanskrit mantras that the priest chants and the about to be married couple is expected to repeat after him.
If the words which validate the marriage that unites two people are not understood, then how are the rites justified?
Where is the sanctity?
Where is the marriage?
Understanding the words can also be a double edged sword.
A beloved relative in the generation before, had studied Sanskrit.
She found the priest's mastery over the mantras so shaky and his diction so poor and, that she took pity on him.
The ceremony went as follows:
The bride chanted a line of the mantra-
the priest repeated-
then as the ritual demands that the priest guides the couple in their vows, she and her husband-to-be repeated the same after him.
So where does she stand in the great scheme of things?
Overmarried?
BTW, this would apply across the board where the language used is unfamiliar to the couple wishing to be tied in holy matrimony.
One would like to think they would be proportionate to the income, but very often they are not.
From here on what I write is specific to the Hindu northern half of India marriages.
Amidst all the splendour, the festivity, of one tends to overlook a little event.
The ceremony itself.
Very few are there to sit it out with the bride and the bride-groom. Only a handful of people can claim to have been there through the proceedings.
It is treated as the most 'boring' aspect of the wedding tamasha.But then, how relevant is it really?
I sometimes wonder, why must it happen?
After all, I know of not a person who has understood the Sanskrit mantras that the priest chants and the about to be married couple is expected to repeat after him.
If the words which validate the marriage that unites two people are not understood, then how are the rites justified?
Where is the sanctity?
Where is the marriage?
Understanding the words can also be a double edged sword.
A beloved relative in the generation before, had studied Sanskrit.
She found the priest's mastery over the mantras so shaky and his diction so poor and, that she took pity on him.
The ceremony went as follows:
The bride chanted a line of the mantra-
the priest repeated-
then as the ritual demands that the priest guides the couple in their vows, she and her husband-to-be repeated the same after him.
So where does she stand in the great scheme of things?
Overmarried?
BTW, this would apply across the board where the language used is unfamiliar to the couple wishing to be tied in holy matrimony.
How true ! marriage is all about booze party dancing madly flirting getting dressed and looking good...and the actual ceremony is like...panditji jaldi karo ! Bride and groom are overly dressed and all they can think about is looking good in the pictures...all else be damned !
ReplyDeleteThe dear relative I referred to was my mother! :D
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