The Happy groom!!
Well it is wedding season here up in J&K. We attended a wedding this past week and have another one upcoming. And well... to put it plainly they are not quite the same as we are used to, but fun none the less. Well I had fun anyway. Some times I felt like I was the one getting married the way we were paraded around as the guests of honor. Anyways the wedding are usually about a two or three day affair, and we arrived the evening of the first day. We had the first of the large meals which is made up of rice and meat and not much else. Meat is quite the luxury so for big functions they will have it in excess.
Later that night we were awoken by our hosts, for a little henna party, And to also be their photographers for the few days. After a few hours of sleep we then woke to breakfast, and soon I was off with the men and groom to the bride's village. It was called a bharat. We spent most of the day sitting around, eating a lot more food, and even playing some cricket. Apparently I'm not the worst player or so I was told. I could kind of make out some negotiations something about giving a horse to the bride's family. I'm not exactly sure about the bride price or how it all works but there is some sort of arrangement and exchange of money. Then there are the wedding ceremonies. I say ceremonies because there is one for the groom and one for the bride, each saying vows to the local religious leader, not to each other. We then packed up all the brides possessions and drive back to the groom's village. So now the wedding is virtually over besides more celebrating and the bride and the groom have yet to meet!! They may have met sometime in their past or in their 1-5 year engagement but not too likely. It was very interesting to watch and also participate in a wedding that has history that goes back much further than our western weddings. And I don't know if we should be quick to judge their traditions even though it is very different from what we are used to. -Craig
