The rituals makes human life colourful and cheerful alongwith the representation of richness of their cultural heritage. The cultural heritage differs from are to area and social groups. The chain of cultural heritage is very long and it includes the rituals of birth, marriage, death and festivals. Generally the occasion of marriage comes in only one time in once life period, so the prime importance have been given to this ritual. The marriage ceremony is bound with so many rituals between Sagai to Vidai. Keeping in view the importance of marriage I have tried to explore the marriage rituals of tribals and non-tribal groups of the country viz Adikarnataka, Assamese, Hindus, Asur, Baurias, Bhils, Bhumija, Bhuyan, Birhor, Bohra, Christian, Damor, Ghasi, Gond, Hos. Saharia etc., in detail.
Anju wants a husband. Equally important, her entire family wants Anju to have a husband. Her life in Bombay, where a marriage can be arranged in a matter of hours, is almost solely devoted to this quest, with her anxious mother hauling her from holy site to holy site in order to consult and entreat swamis and astrologers. As Anju’s twenties slip away, she’s fast becoming a spinster by her culture’s standards, so she moves to New York City to work in fashion. For Matrimonial Purposes is the hilarious story of Anju’s journey, her quest for love, and the choices that she must make while trying to remain true to herself and satisfy her family and tradition.
This book makes use of interesting case studies and photographs to describe everyday life in a squatter settlement in Delhi. The book helps to understand the marital experiences of these people most of whom belong to the Scheduled Caste and live in one identified geographical space. The author describes the shifts within their marriages, remarriages and other kinds of unions and their striking diversities, which have been described with care. Shalini Grover also examines the close ties of married women with their mothers and natal families. An important contribution of the book lies in the unfolding of the role of women-led informal courts, Mahila Panchayats and their influence in conflict resolution. This takes place in a distinctly different mode of community-based arbitration against the backdrop of mainstream legal structures and male-dominated caste associations. The book will be of interest to students of sociology and social anthropology, gender studies, development studies, law and psychology. Activists and family counsellors will also find the book useful.
Marriage is one of the most sacred institutions in India. Traditionally, parents and other family members have arranged marriages for their children based on caste, matching horoscopes, family status, or dowry. Over the past few decades, however, divorce rates have grown significantly. It would seem that the old way of doing things is no longer working -- but why? Drawing on her experience with hundreds of families struggling with marital discord, attorney and mediator Geetha Ravindra explores the breakdown of Indian marriage within a rapidly changing culture, explaining why the conventional criteria used to arrange marriages no longer ensure lasting, healthy relationships. With stories of how real Indian couples navigate a twenty-first-century world, Shaadi Remix: Transforming the Traditional Indian Marriage, provides guidance on alternative methods of choosing partners, as well as tips on effectively communicating and resolving conflict in marriage. Shaadi Remix is a must read for Indian parents, Indian youth contemplating marriage, and anyone who is interested in understanding the Indian marriage system. Geetha Ravindra offers readers a unique approach to the traditional Indian union-one that blends the important values of the Vedic marriage with contemporary and practical considerations.
"In India, there are 650 million people under the age of 35. These are men and women who grew up with the Internet, and the advent of smartphones and social media. But when it comes to love and marriage, they're expected to adhere to thousands of years of tradition. It's that tension between obeying tradition and accepting modernity that drives journalist Mansi Choksi's [book]"--
Winner of the Silver Nautilus Award for Journalism & Investigative Reporting "A book that truly is impossible to put down.”—Washington Post "This remarkable debut is so deeply reported, elegantly written, and profoundly transporting that it reads like a novel you can’t put down. It’s both a nuanced and intimate evocation of Indian culture, and a provocative and exciting meditation on marriage itself."—Katie Roiphe, author of The Violet Hour In the vein of Behind the Beautiful Forevers, an intimate, deeply reported and revelatory examination of love, marriage, and the state of modern India—as witnessed through the lives of three very different couples in today’s Mumbai. In twenty-first-century India, tradition is colliding with Western culture, a clash that touches the lives of everyday Indians from the wealthiest to the poorest. While ethnicity, class, and religion are influencing the nation’s development, so too are pop culture and technology—an uneasy fusion whose impact is most evident in the institution of marriage. The Heart Is a Shifting Sea introduces three couples whose relationships illuminate these sweeping cultural shifts in dramatic ways: Veer and Maya, a forward-thinking professional couple whose union is tested by Maya’s desire for independence; Shahzad and Sabeena, whose desperation for a child becomes entwined with the changing face of Islam; and Ashok and Parvati, whose arranged marriage, made possible by an online matchmaker, blossoms into true love. Though these three middle-class couples are at different stages in their lives and come from diverse religious backgrounds, their stories build on one another to present a layered, nuanced, and fascinating mosaic of the universal challenges, possibilities, and promise of matrimony in its present state. Elizabeth Flock has observed the evolving state of India from inside Mumbai, its largest metropolis. She spent close to a decade getting to know these couples—listening to their stories and living in their homes, where she was privy to countless moments of marital joy, inevitable frustration, dramatic upheaval, and whispered confessions and secrets. The result is a phenomenal feat of reportage that is both an enthralling portrait of a nation in the midst of transition and an unforgettable look at the universal mysteries of love and marriage that connect us all.
