“It was a cold day in winters when the house was decorated with flowers and lights all around. The air was filled with excitement and joy as I heard the sound of the Baarat coming from a distance. I rushed towards the window and leaned over its edge and slid the curtain slightly. I saw a handsome man smiling shyly sitting on a horse. He just looked so perfect that my heart skipped a beat. It was the day when I first saw the man I was going to marry, it was my wedding day” My granny said. Their wedding was fixed by their families, when they were just kids.
Years ago the face of Hindu marriage was completely different. It is said that marriages are made in heaven and celebrated on earth. It is not a mere celebration but a rejoiced union of two families observed with great zeal.
But everything changes with the time. And it is also true in terms of Hindu Marriage traditions. Gone are the days when the marriage used to be arranged by elders at an early age and the ceremony use to go on for 8 days where every rite and ritual used to be practiced with every minute detail. As we progressed towards ‘Modernization’, there are many traditions we have left behind.
Hindu marriage use to be an extensive process involving rigid protocols. The marriage which usually used to last for 8 days has come down to 2 days function or in certain cases, even 1 day.
The practice of making sacred seven vows used to be a prolonged process whereas these days it is being done within just few minutes.
In the earlier days an auspicious time used to be fixed by a pandit (Hindu priest) and the rites and rituals had to be performed in the given time span.
Many customs like Katha Vachan, Samdhi Milap, and Var Nikasi are completely eliminated from the process of the ceremony. While some other are adopted to make the weddings more cheerful. The trends of having a pre wedding cocktail party having dance performances and Dj’s playing their gigs, is what the new generation have adopted over the years.
Whatever reforms the times have bought in the traditions, one thing that is permanent in right from the beginnings is that Hindu marriages are commemoration in itself and will continue to be so.
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