A bride and groom wearing traditional handmade garlands wait for their wedding to start, while another couple performs a wedding ritual during the mass marriage ceremony. PHOTOS: REUTERS
KARACHI: Eesar Ram, father of seven daughters, was overjoyed on Sunday evening as one of his daughters was tying the knot at a mass wedding organised by the Pakistan Hindu Council (PHC).
A total of 60 Hindu couples entered into matrimony during the ceremony held at YMCA ground on Sunday night. "We arrange a total of 100 weddings every year since the last 10 years," said MNA Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, the PHC's patron-in-chief. He explained that they arrange some of the weddings in the rural areas for people who do not want to travel all the way to Karachi from places, such as Tando Allahyar, Mirpurkhas or other towns of Sindh and Balochistan.
Preparations
The hall was set up for families and relatives of couples whereas the bride, groom and four close family members were seated inside enclosures the organisers had assigned by name and registration number. The small enclosures around the hall had been prepped with all the necessary items needed for a Hindu marriage. Each table had a coconut, a plate consisting of wood, ghee and soil to use for the pheray (rounds), incense, and dry fruits, including peanuts, rice, pistachios and sindoor (red vermillion powder).
The ceremony
The Maharaj (priest) performed one ceremony on the stage while the other 59 couples imitated it with the help of PHC volunteers and through a live video feed on LCD screens placed in every enclosure.
"Everyone knows in interior [Sindh] that we arrange mass weddings, so they keep calling and asking us the dates," Vankwani shared with The Express Tribune. He said in October they announce the date in Mandirs (temples) and place banners across the towns and cities so deserving people can register for their wedding.
The whole process of rituals, which includes the havan yagya (sacred fire ceremony) and pheray takes one and half hour, whereas after that every family can complete the ceremony according to their beliefs. PHC, along with arranging mass weddings, also provides dowry for the couple which includes blankets, utensils, television, clothes and a cash grant of Rs100,000 to each couple.
To each their own
Wearing flower garlands and holding a sword, Vicky entered the hall with his family to marry Sujata. "This is our tradition [holding a sword]. It is something we have been doing for ages," said his mother, dressed in a red and golden saari and holding a plate with coconut and dry fruits.
Deva and Tejki wore a colourful band on their heads while they waited for the ceremony to start. "The bride and groom both wear this on the wedding day," informed Deva, adding that this is part of their culture in Tharparkar.
Most of the brides wore red, maroon and white traditional dresses with some other attire presented by their in-laws. "Everyone here has different beliefs and a different way to commence marriages in terms of rituals and dress colours," said Padma Kumar, the aunt of Rama Mir, a bride dressed in a green and maroon chunri sari.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 26th, 2016.
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