Indian weddings of our times are fast changing in many ways. Some archaic practices are being dropped. For instance, brides are no more seen putting on a said face while leaving their families and most of them choose to retain their surnames even after their marriage. Here are a few aspects of Indian marriages that have seen a makeover.
Reinventing matriarchal elements
In the northern city of Ambala, a law graduate named Priya Agarwal chose to ride a horse carrying a sword to her groom’s place. Usually, this role is played by men. The wedding video of Amisha Bharadwaj went viral as the bride danced for Sia’s popular hit Cheap Thrills in her wedding blouse and shorts. Talking to BBC news, she remarked, “My video broke the stereotype of the shy Indian bride, who is not supposed to dance, and definitely not wear the kind of clothes I was wearing.”
Getting gender equality into marriages
Traditionally, Indian weddings have always emphasized on men’s domination over the women. Rituals like the bride’s parents washing the groom’s feet and the bride’s father giving away the daughter as a gift to the groom (Kaynadaan) are slowly being given up. Parthip Thyagarajan, the Managing Director of Wedding Sutra remarked, “Many brides and grooms who have held strong views about misogynistic rituals and want to either do away with them or change their form, talk to their parents and in-laws beforehand to bring them on board.”
Brides choosing to retain their surname
A software engineer in Bengaluru Shruti Kumar chose to retain her surname after the wedding with the remarks, “My name is so much part of my identity and also the way my friends and family as well as people at work know me. I wanted to retain it.”
Exchange of rings instead of Mangalsutra
Usually in a traditional Indian marriage, the bride has to wear Mangalsutra, a necklace, which is a mark of being wedded. She also has to wear vermilion in her forehead. Breaking this tradition which occurs to her as a sign of gender inequality, Shruti Singh, an advertising professional in Bangalore opted to exchange rings with her groom indicating the union of equals.
Refusing to observe the emotional high points
While most Indian brides are expected to bid a teary goodbye to their family while leaving with their new husbands, many new age brides are refusing to cry. Anusha Ravi, a social worker in Delhi said, “For Indian society to really change will take decades, but it is still a good sign that many women are trying hard to fight misogyny and gender inequality in weddings.”
Take away
While many things have changed about Indian weddings, several things have remained the same over the years. Whatever might be your attitude towards Indian wedding and whether you choose to conduct the ceremonies in a traditional or contemporary fashion, it is necessary that you hire the best photographers for Indian weddings. They help create indelible memories of the event. Photography preserves the memories of Indian weddings for the posterity.
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