My mom likes to tell me stories from when she was younger. The theme of this story was about how people were more helpful in those days.
In traditional Indian weddings, the groom's family, in a sort of procession called the 'baraat', travel to the bride's home, where the wedding would take place. My grandfather was part of one such baraat, although he was close to families of both the bride and the groom. Unfortunately, the groom's older brother met with an accident and passed away while the baraat was en route to the wedding.
My mother proceeded to tell me how my grandfather intervened at this point and ensured that the wedding rituals proceeded as planned. When this surprised me, she explained to me that if a wedding ceremony got interrupted, the bride would be considered unlucky, and in all probability, would never get married again. The return of a baraat is considered an extremely bad omen. However, this did not have any bearing on the 'luckiness' of the groom. He would proceed to marry a 'luckier' bride. Therefore, the wedding proceeded as planned, with a little less enthusiasm on the part of the groom's family, on the insistence of my considerate grandfather.
Afterwards, the bride could not be taken to the groom's family home, as it had been rendered unlucky for a new couple, having recently been visited by death. My grandfather, therefore, invited the newly weds to his home, where my mother and her sisters prepared food and arranged for the remaining ceremonies to be completed.
This was a story of the generosity of my grandfather, of the closeness of friends (he was close to the father of the bride) and of a time when people readily helped each other.
The anxiety or excitement of a young girl over marrying a boy she had never seen did not matter. Her fright over being labelled unlucky and her being considered a terrible burden on her family concerned nobody. This was never her story in the first place.
In traditional Indian weddings, the groom's family, in a sort of procession called the 'baraat', travel to the bride's home, where the wedding would take place. My grandfather was part of one such baraat, although he was close to families of both the bride and the groom. Unfortunately, the groom's older brother met with an accident and passed away while the baraat was en route to the wedding.
My mother proceeded to tell me how my grandfather intervened at this point and ensured that the wedding rituals proceeded as planned. When this surprised me, she explained to me that if a wedding ceremony got interrupted, the bride would be considered unlucky, and in all probability, would never get married again. The return of a baraat is considered an extremely bad omen. However, this did not have any bearing on the 'luckiness' of the groom. He would proceed to marry a 'luckier' bride. Therefore, the wedding proceeded as planned, with a little less enthusiasm on the part of the groom's family, on the insistence of my considerate grandfather.
Afterwards, the bride could not be taken to the groom's family home, as it had been rendered unlucky for a new couple, having recently been visited by death. My grandfather, therefore, invited the newly weds to his home, where my mother and her sisters prepared food and arranged for the remaining ceremonies to be completed.
This was a story of the generosity of my grandfather, of the closeness of friends (he was close to the father of the bride) and of a time when people readily helped each other.
The anxiety or excitement of a young girl over marrying a boy she had never seen did not matter. Her fright over being labelled unlucky and her being considered a terrible burden on her family concerned nobody. This was never her story in the first place.
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