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It's 2021 and we still follow rituals like Kashi Yatra where bride's parents wash the groom's feet. It's time such rituals are questioned and stopped!
It’s 2021 and we still follow rituals like Kashi Yatra where bride’s parents wash the groom’s feet. It’s time such rituals are questioned and stopped!
Indian weddings have a number of rituals. Each community and sub-community has its own set of rituals. At times, they are specific to a geographic location, as in a village.
Most of these rituals are being followed blindly without understanding their significance. Just because they have been going on for several decades, people continue to follow them.
“We haven’t questioned our elders about this. So, I see no reason why you should be questioning them”, is the answer one gets when questioning the rituals.
Even if one makes an effort to understand the origin of a ritual and its significance, one wonders if it is relevant today.
There is a ritual called Kashi Yatra in a typical Brahmanical Telugu wedding. The groom pretends to run away from the wedding venue and go to Kashi. This is because he wants to continue his education and expand his knowledge before settling down with his household duties.
The groom is given a book on spirituality, an umbrella (as he has to walk under the scorching heat) and slippers (so that he is not hurt by stones on the road).
The bride’s brother tries to stop him by telling him that his sister is as sweet as a piece of jaggery and that he should marry her.
Once he agrees to come back and get married, the bride’s parents feel grateful and wash his feet!
Circa 2021. If the groom wants to continue his education, he can do so through the comfort of his home via online courses. Why should he run away from the wedding venue?
Will the groom walk all the way to his college? He will hire a cab or book a flight ticket. So, he does not require the umbrella and the slippers!
The guy has most probably wooed the girl to marry him. So, why should the bride’s brother offer niceties about his sister in order to convince the groom to marry her?
The bride’s parents are obviously elder to the groom. Why should they be washing his feet??
It is high time the validity of such rituals are questioned and we stop following them!
Image source: Stills from 2 States and Gori Tere Pyaar Mein
A full-time employee, a part-timer, a flexi-timer, freelancer, an entrepreneur, now a life coach - I have seen it all. I have passion for reading and writing, like to talk about parenting among read more...
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