United in celebration: Mirpurkhas sends first couple to get married at mass wedding
Over 50 Hindu couples tie the knot at a festive arrangement by the Pakistan Hindu Council.
A newly wedded couple takes a selfie at the colourful mass wedding ceremony arranged by the Pakistan Hindu Council at the YMCA ground on Friday night. PHOTO: ATHAR KHAN/EXPRESS
KARACHI:
The Pakistan Hindu Council is known for arranging mass weddings but Friday was the first time that they had a couple from Mirpurkhas.
"It is the first time someone from our village is getting married with so many others," said Chanesar, a resident of Mirpurkhas. "We like the arrangements and what the Hindu council has done for us." A total of 50 Hindu couples tied the knot in a festive, colourful mass wedding ceremony arranged by the Pakistan Hindu Council at the YMCA ground on Friday night. Similar to other weddings in the city, this one also picked up pace well after 10pm.
"A total of 100 families will be coming," said MNA Dr Ramesh Kumar, a short while before the celebrations began. "It takes a while for everyone to get here given the traffic conditions outside."
As the couples, their families and the guests began to arrive in twos and threes, they were seated in their own enclosures. The organisers had arranged 50 small enclosures and customised mandaths for the ceremonies for each couple. Each table had a coconut, wood on flour to light a fire for the pheray, supari consisting of beetle nuts, pistachios, peanuts, incense, diya, rice and sandoor.
Of the 50 ceremonies, only one was performed on stage while the remaining 49 couples followed suit in their private enclosures guided by their families and volunteers of the Pakistan Hindu Council.
"This is how a traditional wedding takes place in our Tando Allahyar as well," said Shanti, the mother of a bride. "Nothing is being done differently."
The bridal flair
In a mass wedding when one would expect everyone to be dressed the same, it came off as a welcome surprise when families gelled their own traditions with what the authorities provided them. Apart from Rs20,000 cash, blankets, utensils, television and clothes were part of the bride's dowry.
While most of the brides wore dresses in hues of red, maroon and rust, some were more creative. Saveeta, who adorned a bottle green sari with golden embellishment, said that in their faith, married women and brides are not supposed to wear red. "Red is only for our god, Dastane," she explained. "You can wear it if you are single but brides and married women are not supposed to. In this case, green and pink are the most preferred choices."
In a nearby enclosure, as Joti waited for her groom, Krishna, to arrive, her mother spoke about her dress and how it was sent by her in-laws. Dressed in green and dark brown chunri print with a complimentary golden teeka, rings, bracelets and bangles on her arms, Joti said chunri is a necessary part of their wedding clothes. "We were given a red jora by them [the Hindu Council] but of course, we had to go with what the in-laws sent for her," explained her mother.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 4th, 2015.
The Pakistan Hindu Council is known for arranging mass weddings but Friday was the first time that they had a couple from Mirpurkhas.
"It is the first time someone from our village is getting married with so many others," said Chanesar, a resident of Mirpurkhas. "We like the arrangements and what the Hindu council has done for us." A total of 50 Hindu couples tied the knot in a festive, colourful mass wedding ceremony arranged by the Pakistan Hindu Council at the YMCA ground on Friday night. Similar to other weddings in the city, this one also picked up pace well after 10pm.
"A total of 100 families will be coming," said MNA Dr Ramesh Kumar, a short while before the celebrations began. "It takes a while for everyone to get here given the traffic conditions outside."
As the couples, their families and the guests began to arrive in twos and threes, they were seated in their own enclosures. The organisers had arranged 50 small enclosures and customised mandaths for the ceremonies for each couple. Each table had a coconut, wood on flour to light a fire for the pheray, supari consisting of beetle nuts, pistachios, peanuts, incense, diya, rice and sandoor.
Of the 50 ceremonies, only one was performed on stage while the remaining 49 couples followed suit in their private enclosures guided by their families and volunteers of the Pakistan Hindu Council.
"This is how a traditional wedding takes place in our Tando Allahyar as well," said Shanti, the mother of a bride. "Nothing is being done differently."
The bridal flair
In a mass wedding when one would expect everyone to be dressed the same, it came off as a welcome surprise when families gelled their own traditions with what the authorities provided them. Apart from Rs20,000 cash, blankets, utensils, television and clothes were part of the bride's dowry.
While most of the brides wore dresses in hues of red, maroon and rust, some were more creative. Saveeta, who adorned a bottle green sari with golden embellishment, said that in their faith, married women and brides are not supposed to wear red. "Red is only for our god, Dastane," she explained. "You can wear it if you are single but brides and married women are not supposed to. In this case, green and pink are the most preferred choices."
In a nearby enclosure, as Joti waited for her groom, Krishna, to arrive, her mother spoke about her dress and how it was sent by her in-laws. Dressed in green and dark brown chunri print with a complimentary golden teeka, rings, bracelets and bangles on her arms, Joti said chunri is a necessary part of their wedding clothes. "We were given a red jora by them [the Hindu Council] but of course, we had to go with what the in-laws sent for her," explained her mother.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 4th, 2015.