I attended a village wedding and it was super!

Have you ever been to a village wedding? I hadn't but the experience of attending a village wedding, after all, was extraordinary. Every every region has distinct matrimonial customs and I was attending a wedding in Kasur that can be named as the heart of Punjab. Therefore, there were some interesting traditions that I would like to share with my readers.

The caterers who are usually called 'Nayi' have a lot to do more than cooking at the wedding. There was an interesting rasam called 'Warri Dikhai'. Warri is a set of commodities prepared by the groom's side of the family for the bride. Interestingly, I was aware of this custom but the unusual thing was that they literally showcased every item to the attendees of the wedding. Some people gathered around a trunk which was replenished with the Warri items. Ladies from the groom's family showcased every item one by one and as a matter of fact, every item was showcased by a different lady. Another funny addition to this custom was that the Nayi had the key to the trunk and only handed over the key to the family once they gave him some money. They gave him approximately 1000 rupees and it was a fun shenanigan that went on for a while.

To be honest, I haven't attended many weddings and I don't know about the matrimonial conventions too much but one custom that came up during this wedding was not only astonishing but weird. The bride's sister-in-law boils milk for the groom. Now it's not as simple as we all know, there is a catch in it. The milk should be 2 liters and it should be boiled down to just a glass. What goes behind this custom's reasoning? I tried to understand the ideology behind this custom but then just laughed it off and enjoyed the diversity of my country's culture.

When the bride is leaving their parent's house, the parents are supposed to cry a lot. People notice how much parents cry. One lady actually told us; when a daughter is given away, their families cry all night. During the wedding that I was attending, the family did cry but not too much and one of the ladies pointed that out. Saying, "They haven't cried at all, is this how you cry at rukhsati?". It was hilariously bizarre. 

In villages, there isn't much notion of mehndi. However, we had a small mehndi set up for this wedding. During the event, the ladies performed a small, impromptu dance. All the ladies collectively sang a song. It was like a folk song and all of them knew the dance steps too. According to them, it was a traditional dance and I enjoyed every bit of it. 

The diversity and beauty of every culture make it distinct that eventually, enriches our overall society. The matrimonial customs differ in every region of the country and that is what makes our nation unique. It is very important to embrace diversity to prosper and progress. Monotony is not what our country signifies, Pakistan is a place that embodies various colors of life and we should take pride in it rather than trying to suppress it. Let's preserve the beautiful cultures of Pakistan from the fire of any hate-mongering vultures.