Culture is valuable asset of any country and their society. Nepal is reach in culture. I am going to say few words on Nepali
Marriage or Wedding. The meaning of Marriage do not change with country and with culture. Only, way of marriage, change with culture and with country. Winter season (mostly Nepali months: mansir,poush,maga,falgun) is a time of marriage in Hindu society. Homes are bustling with excitement. The excitement here is a much awaited marriage of a near and dear one. In Hindu society says,” Marriage get in this world but couples are made in Heaven”. This surprising sentence comes true after when who weds whom in the society. It all gets so quickly and soundly that people often find it difficult to explain the ‘magic’. Once the two sides agree to the
proposal first a ceremony to endorse the proposal is held during which the bride and bridegroom exchange their rings and commit themselves to enter a relationship at a convenient date later.
In our society, marriage is expensive proposal where kith and kin of the bride and the bridegroom are busy buying stuffs. There are several rounds of shopping which are often exhausting cause the ladies in the family are unprepared to make a buy without getting a good bargaining margin. The shopping spree catches the imagination of the main actors including other
relatives who compete to look more gorgeous than the other.
It has been a compulsory in the rich families for men and women to buy new clothes whenever somebody gets wedded. The bride’s family and their relatives are found talking about ornaments and saries all the time. Nepalese marriages are quite ritualistic and time consuming. The main day of the marriage is marked by protracted Hindu rituals, which consume long hours.
The scene is such that there comes a time when only the bride, bridegroom and the priest including the bride’s parents are occupied in the rituals while others are either playing cards or chatting lazily.
After the wedding & ritual ends of their families for couple intimate relationship, the relatives of groom are eager to take the bride home at the earliest possible while the bride’s relatives and parents seems to be wanting to delay the last ritual. The final siren is blown and the bride’s brother carries her on his back and put her on a car while she sobs on having to depart from her parents. Musical bands are a part and parcel of Nepalese weddings.
It is happy to note that bands are these days playing Nepalese songs and music instead of some other song of some other culture.
The new trend observed is that parties become dry without a drink. Regardless of expenses, the visitors do feel delighted on having to take a sip or two of hard drink and congratulate the new couple for having finally tied the nuptial knot.
Dec 2008
By Mainali