| Photo gallery: As in most of India, the marriage
ceremony (or shaadi in Hindi) in the Kulu Valley is an elaborate affair,
typically a full length one lasting three days. Traditional arranged
marriages are still the norm although "love marriages" are
increasingly common. Before bride and bride groom can wed, it's considered
essential that horoscopes are matched and if satisfactory, further
astrology is used to determine an "auspicious" date for
the wedding. On the first wedding day bride and groom spend the day
at their respective family homes in complex religious ceremonies under
the guidance of the family pandit, or priest. On the second day the
baraat (boy's bridal group) arrives at the girl's house for another
day of marriage rituals and puja (prayer), in the evening returning
to the bride grooms house with the bride, where after the conclusion
of further religious obligations, the third day is spent celebrating
the marital union with socialising, food and dancing accompanied by
music from the local temple musicians playing the karnali trumpets,
dhol drums and shahnai flute. Gifts of goods and money (to offset
wedding costs) are given by relatives and villagers, although thr
extortionist and sometimes violent dowry demands common on the plains
of India are unusual in the Kullu Valley |
