Ascetic groom

Well, first of all a disclaimer is called for. Do not expect too many words of wisdom and tips for arranging an Indian wedding in these posts. What actually is at offer are the snippets of my close encounters with Indian weddings. After having spent almost 34 years on this planet earth, and that too in India and that too in North India, sharing few interesting trvia of an Indian wedding, is all that I will do.

Also although I will be sharing my thoughts about my rendezvous with various regional Indian weddings, but since my first hand experience has been in North Indian weddings, most of the anecdotes will take reference from there. Also if I am talking about the "Bigness and fatness" of weddings I have nowhere to go but to North India.

A for the Ascetic Groom

So here we begin our A to Z of the Big Fat Indian Wedding.

All Indian weddings are a heap of traditions and rituals, being followed from almost the stone age.  They might have had  relevance in the context of yester years, but now nobody has any time or inclination to look at the thought behind them as long as they are good enough to keep all the guests engaged.

One of such ritual enactment is done at the Groom's side. On the day of the wedding or a day prior, the Groom pretends to be ascetic and on the verge of renouncing the world. He wants be a scholar and go for Kashi for his studies. This is like a final opportunity for the groom to leave before the bride enters his life. Midst of all the fun and frolic and the ongoing ceremonies, he has to  leave the marriage hall in half clad clothes. (Generally a dhoti tied to waist) He then has to be persuaded by his sister to come back and get married. The sister should dissuade him from  further studies and bring him back to worldly ways of leading a life. In Tamil weddings, the relatives or father of the bride are given the task to get the groom back.

All the rituals and traditions in the hindu wedding, have a symbolic, spiritual or philosophical meaning. Like the ritual of ascetic groom, would have been quite relevant in good old days, when the knots were tied in the childhood. And before you actually took the responsibility of your bride and the family, it was important that you had the required education or skills to fend  for yourself.

On my brother's wedding day too , my brother was told to leave the hall and go for further studies and I had to go, talk, convince and get him back. Well that was easy... I just had to tell him that higher studies was a great idea and he should pursue it, but that can wait till the wedding. These days they do have option of married hostels easily available in the campus.

Another A of wedding not to be missed

Aunties : If you have been to a north Indian wedding, you would have seen, that the charm and excitement of the hoopla hovers around those middle aged and old ladies, who have a song ready for each occasion. They are also the ones who will be cracking most of those funny "Non Veg" jokes to add up spice in the air. A bundle of giggles and heap of gossip ,the "Aunties" make the Indian Weddings fun.

So the A to Z trivia of the Indian Wedding starts from today. Do tune in everyday, same place but different times, to ravel into the extravaganza.

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