MADE IN HEAVEN.........

Marriages are made in heaven but solemnised on earth and witnessed by a crowd of people! Especially in India a marriage is not just between two consenting and 'very much in love' couple but between huge tentacled families and friends. Everybody is a stakeholder in the newfound relationship. Everybody has a say in the fortnight long (in the days of yore it was month long) medley of events. So its not just a union of a man and a woman but the creation of a united estate of strangers.

Before the actual ceremony the parents are the work horses. Getting everything ready - acquiring, gleaning and recovering information from around and within them so as not to leave any stone unturned lest stones of criticism are pelted on them for not having done enough. It is an unbroken cycle of purchases and list-making. and the parents are the guinea pigs who ride these cycles like lab rats - to be let off only once the unification is complete! 

The real work to keep the marriage healthy - alive and kicking- rests with the newly christened 'the husband' and 'the wife'. Their union was destined because God had already booked them for each other long before they were born. The panditji did the formal authorisation after a test by fire and the parents bore witness to the deed. Now it is their turn to pay the dividends by way of happiness and grandkids. 

Its the quintessential Hindu wedding. This is how its done in run-of-the-mill weddings (can't say about the new formats in the market today). But then even after following laid down rules there is always scope for trouble. Its not a cake walk for two individuals from absolutely different ecosystems to adapt to each other. Marriage requires lot of work and patience and the commitment to earnestly try for it to succeed. You grow into a marriage and blossom only when you give each other space and preserve your individuality. Two bodies and one soul- nope doesn't work that way....two bodies, two souls housed in one convivial home! Thats my understanding of a marriage.