Well,
we were through with the big event called marriage. The traditional, typical
Tamil Brahmin wedding… the nichayadartham, mappilai azhaippu, wedding and
finally the reception.
These days some people of my
age group feel that the two-day event is actually tiring and tedious. With both
partners working in high positions and having professional qualifications, to
top it all when they go for love marriages, they have to go through one marriage
in two different ways!!!
Ours was an arranged one and we
had some pretty funny incidents too. Facing the glaring cameras, we blinked our
way through the wedding. Soon after the wedding, we were rushed to the registrar’s
office before it closed for lunch. Days were when the newlywed broke their backs
seeking the blessings of all the guests who had come for the wedding. But these
days, for couples going abroad, the first person whose blessing has to be sought
after the parents is the registrar.
So we cut short our namaskarams
and rushed to the registrar's office only to find many like us there. Those with
long-term plans can even carry a pen and paper to take down the addresses of
other young couples who have come there on a similar mission so that when we
land in the Big Apple we have someone to contact.
But
everything went on smoothly and then we came to the reception part. The time of
the day when we have to present ourselves to important dignitaries from our
parent’s and in-law’s offices! So, most of us do the mistake of painting our
faces in the name of donning make-up. In fact, one of our friends was surprised
to find himself standing alone on the dais receiving guests because the
beautician was late. And when she did join him feeling extremely apologetic for
the delay, he wondered if they had changed the girl whom he had married in the
morning.
I had pancake make-up, in spite
of telling the beautician to go easy on her imported cosmetics. But she seems to
have been an honest woman trying to do justice for the money she had taken. So
she overturned most of her accessories on me.
Thankfully, our wedding did not
have a song/dance performance which is a sinful waste as nobody listens to them
unless an established star is performing. And then the star attraction is
someone else and not the couple!
In
spite of all this, a traditional wedding is a thoroughly enjoyable event. These
days, weddings have been remodelled to suit present-day trends. However tedious
the rituals might be, one never looks better than how one looked on one's
wedding day. The initial preparation of pampering one’s looks, the joy and
gaiety of the people around, their wits and jokes setting the mood, the
emotional high that one gets reflected on the face. In our opinion, if it is
economically feasible, then a decent wedding with the expenses shared by both
parties is actually a good idea.
But
what about the social part? There is so much food that gets thrown away at
weddings. A colossal waste, especially in our country. We can do our bit by
calling organisations like 'Udavum Karangal', who take the excess food for their
inmates. We tie a token coin for our family deity, in the same way we can also
set aside a sum for some old age home, some destitute home...
The best gift you can give the
couple is give them all the attention they need and deserve in the world. Above
all, that is what makes a wedding really special for them.
And guys, our next stop was
Munnar. Don't go away thinking I have exhausted so much space on the wedding. Do
join us as we travel to Munnar in my next column… I promise.
Kanakadhara Subramanian
