Wedding Games
An Indian wedding is marked by its fanfare, colour, blaring music, brass band...a blend of the traditional and modern. That's how most Indian weddings are. And then when the rituals and rites are through you'd think its over, but there's another think coming up...there are wedding games to be played! Well, when I say 'games' I mean games.
I learned about these games when my elder son got married. A few of my friends from Rajasthan got the newly wed couple to play a few 'power games.' What was especially amusing about the activity was that the maximum wins decided who would wear the pants around the house! So it was obvious the bride would try her best to beat the groom.
I gathered that this was introduced to alleviate the anxiety the bride might be feeling. In India arranged marriages are usually the norm, so a girl doesn't really know the boy very well, much less the family. Besides an Indian girl doesn't just marry a boy, she marries the whole family too! It would certainly be tough for her to walk into a household of strangers who are now her family. But to come back to the games....
The first one was - searching for a ring in a thali (a big, deep, steel plate) of milky water. A ring is immersed with a lot of almond shells and rose petals. The couple have to search for it using just one hand.
The second one was - untying knots with one hand. A thick thread (dori) is tied around each one's wrist. Then the ends are knotted several times. The knots have to be untied using one hand. The winner is decided on who unties all and how quickly.
The third one was - find the cotton. Little balls of cotton are hidden on the person of the bride and groom. Hiding places could be their clothes, hair, behind the ears etc. The couple take turns locating these.
Since we don't have these games in our Christian wedding ceremonies, it was fun for us. Can't say about the couple, it was well into the wee hours of the morning and they had had a long day. Our wedding receptions are usually dinners that go on and on and on....weddings don't happen everyday, and thank God for that.
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I'm fascinated by so much in this post. From mention of arranged marriages and Indian traditions to the pictures and the bride's face in them. Wow! What a cool think to share with us.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visitig my blog. It's nice to make a new (and interesting) connection. :)
Welcome Janna. Thanks for coming over. I'm glad you liked this piece.
ReplyDeleteJoy, they are a gorgeous couple, the bride is beautiful and I love the color of her dress. So very interesting, thanks for sharing it is fun for me to learn of other cultures.
ReplyDeleteGood morning Marlene...:) it's 10.45 and a beautiful rainy Sunday morning here. I
ReplyDeleteam glad to have you peeping through my cultural window!!
What a nice insight into unfamiliar customs. I think the games are really very nice.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ken...yes the games are nice especially as they do help to break the ice.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful narration Khushi "..that this was introduced to alleviate the anxiety the bride might be feeling. .... It would certainly be tough for her to walk into a household of strangers who are now her family" Its a pleasure to see that things are getting bit more relaxed in recent times. Many thanks
ReplyDeleteWelcome Raj...true things are easing out, in most places and communities. But a large segment in conservative societies of Rajasthan, Haryana and so on, still follow old traditions.
ReplyDeleteYou will be surprised that many young people in these places have their parents selecting the spouse. Their exposure to each other is confined to short meetings a couple of times...and these will either be chaperoned or timed!! It's better in larger cities which have cosmopolitan societies.
It is a shame but 'honour killings'(where a boy or girl are killed, if they choose their own partners) are a reality even in today's 21st century India.
Wow!! Great one Khush !!
ReplyDeleteShukriya Finger Tip. I'm glad you enjoyed going through the Wedding Games...:)
ReplyDeleteAs you said Khushi "true things are easing out, in most places and communities. But a large segment ...still follow old traditions." Its a pleasure to see these issues being beautifully handled in movies like Monsoon Wedding!
ReplyDeleteWell said Raj...the younger generation in cosmopolitan societies are bringing in the change, kudos to them. But old habits die hard and it will take a while for it to become the norm.
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