Wishesh December Magazine 2015

INDIAN DIASPORA
Tradition
Kashmiri Pandit
marriage
The Kashmiri Pandits are the Brahmin
community from the Kashmir Valley, a
mountainous region in the Jammu and
Kashmir. At present, they are the only
Hindu community native to Kashmir.
16
While it comes to the discussion
of Kashmiri marriages, one
would not wish to come out
of it. Can’t believe? Let us
experience the feeling, through
discussing about the process of
marriage in Kashmiri Pandits.
Kashmiri Pandits
marriages
Firstly, Kashmiris are very
much concerned about the
horoscopes of both the bride
and groom. Along with it, even
background, status and moral
character of the family of the
prospective match and their
close relatives, are concerned
before the marriage.
If all the above mentioned
are positive, then the bride’s
parents would propose a
wedding date and if even
groom’s parents agree to it,
the priest fixes the wedding
date.
Pre-wedding procedure
Formal Engagement or
Kasamdry
After the two families are
committed to marry the
couple, the priests fix the date
of the engagement ceremony
as per the Kashmiri calendar.
The ceremony takes place,
putting an idol in front. The
either side elders meet in a
temple and exchange flowers
as a sign of celebration.
The bride’s family lays out a
meal. In both bride and the
groom’s houses, the eldest
aunt prepares ‘var’ (a special
rice pudding), and distributed
among Kthe neighbor and
relatives. The bride’s family
sends cash, fruits, dry fruits
and a pot containing nabad
(misri, sugar lumps) to the
groom’s house. But in the
present days, the couple
meets in a temple and
exchange the gold rings.
Livun
Livun is the traditional
cleansing of the house before
a wedding. Both the bride
and groom’s family do not
necessarily do the Livun on
the same day. On this day,
the floors of the Kashmiri
mud houses are cleaned and
treated with a mixture of mud
and water.
All the married female
members of the family attend
WWW.WISHESH.COM | DECEMBER 2015