Indian marriages !!!

jaybel

Hi,
What is a "typical " Indian marrige like in today's India ? Is it an elaborate affair like the Indian Marriages in the US or have they been down sized..? Would like to know how the folks back home celebrate marriages.. In the US & Britain Indian marriages tend to be on a grand scale!

Cheers
Jaybel

agni5454

Jaybel,

When you say "indian" marriages, make sure which religion you are talking about specifically. I think you have Indian-Hindu Marriage in mind. Indian-Muslim marriage celebrations, Indian-Christian Marriage celebrations differ greatly from Indian-Hindu ones.

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beach

"typical " Indian marrige = 200+ guests

"grand scale" indian marriages = 2000+ guests (in some cases a city is invited!)

That's about the crowd. Multply that with some factors to find out the expenditure

But there is a difference between the bollywood style weddings and the situation on ground.

jaybel

Hi,
I thought that "Indian- Christian" Indian -Hindu" and "Indian -Muslim" all come under "Indian Marriages ". You are right in that they differ from each other but so do Hindu marriages, depending on the region one comes from..

Cheers

shere

India is a big place but Punjabi weddings are a big affair. I have only been to Sikh weddings in India so my account is based on this. I doubt Punjabi Hindus do things differently as my friend used to produce VCDs and the weddings of Hindus were just as large as those of Sikhs.

You cant go more than a few miles without seeing a marriage palace in Punjab. These palaces are like large industrial units with a fancy (some would say tacky) facade. Inside you get a few hundred guests filling their plates full of food from the buffet type arrangement (the women will pile up the food on their plates as if there is a famine approaching).

Everyone has their food and then the bride and groom with a selected few guests go to the local Gurdwara. These rest of the guests walk around the palace boring everyone to bits by talking about seed varities and insectisides they use on their farms. By the time the bride and groom are back the performer(usually some sort of musical performer(s) ) are ready to "Rock da Party". Many guests then consume large amount of alcohol and cause havoc.

sadhuji

the venues are usually houses who rent their premises for the occasion. there are options of taking hotels on rent also.

marriage is a celebration and, foods are a must. caterers are available by the dozens - for a resonale rate per plate (Rs 120.00 onwards for non-vegetarian dishes), they serve a large variety. their people do everything and, the menu needs to be planned and decided upon in advance.

the same tradition is seen in bengali marriages outside bengal also.

drinks are not consumned openly, that privelege is reseved only for the inner circle!

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Mikki

Sikkim is part of India now, so I can comment on marriages there. They seem to be very big affairs with everyone very dressed up. Some rituals involve cash (Polish marriage customs do, too) - I don't mean just money - real cash. However, what surprised me most was a pig on a sheet of plastic on the floor of the living room. I must admit my culture shock was so great that I didn't even ask the about its significance - I just stared at the photo! Can anyone explain it to me now??

Prof. Lionel Aranha

They are grand scale out here too. And if the bride's family is footing the bill, the groom's family leaves no stone unturned in inviting even the most distant relative........free loaders.....

torryquine

This sounds an awful lot like a traditional Scottish wedding!

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SHIMLA

There are also low key marriages - a registered marriage followed by a party for the relatives and close friends. This is a close-knit affair.

The rich and the famous usually go in for an ostentatious display in their marriages, to fit in with their "social status".

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ddevadatta

My general impression is that Indian weddings are not as large as they were at least when I was growing up. Then it was a three day affair, where the relatives come in and prepare for the wedding.Today many use halls and hotels for meals and it is usually just a one day affair.

Christian weddings take place in the local church. The ceremony is usually short compared to other weddings. Reception is usually in a hall, where non-veg and veg sections are provided. Guests bring their gifts to the reception, eat and visit. They file in a line to greet the couple and the family.

There is usually some kind of music; DJ usually and you can count on the some blok checking the microphone by shouting out loudly: "Hello, Hello."

Of the topic: why do Indians have such a tough time with sound systems?

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Nick-H

and why is that sound engineers can never count as far as "THREE..." ?

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agni5454

I have attended Indian-christian marriages in US..even though they are supposed to be AND even labeled "Traditional" they are nothing like the 3-day India-Hindu Weddings.

rockyS

Indian marriages are still done on a grand scale , specially in places like Mumbai ,gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Delhi , and even calcutta , a lot of these is done to show the money power, display of wealth. women are dressed in expensive sarees, ghagra choli , these dresses can range from RS 20,000 to Rs 2,00,000.. The no of guest invitees on a grnad scale are nearly 2000+, where an avarge plate would cost u anything between Rs 1000/- to 2000/-. Alchol in the past was a NO NO , now days it has become a part of some of the functions , most grand scale weddings have are over 4 to 5 days with variosu functions till it leads to teh last day of the marriage where u have ur wedding ceremony . most of the weddings are generally in teh winter times , because then u can dress up nicely .

shere

Here a few pictures. One is of a marriage palace and the others of the entertainers. Quality is poor as they are screen captures from a VCD. Cameraman must have been thick as he has left his OSD on which shows up on the film.

Attached Thumbnails