Intercultural zest to traditional weddings

(image is extracted from Google)

I think globalization has done us all a huge favor by not only eradicating physical boundaries but also diluting the caste system in a way. More and more inter-state and intercontinental weddings are taking place, and we are evolving as humans, accepting same-gender marriages as well.
This is the perfect time for everybody to get married. With the air reverberating celebration, we are counting down on the things that'll make intercultural weddings a bliss to attend.

You have so much to learn: You are visiting the wedding ceremony of your Tam Bram cousin to a Punjabi munda (Easy guess where that came from!). There is so much diversity to observe. The bigger picture where the groom is decked up and on his ghoda at three early in the morning followed by sleepy yet so full of life baraatis tagging along. That is one baaraat that is sure to come early and will not keep the bride fainting in anticipation. Different languages, rituals, and people will make for an amalgamation of all that we call Indian.

You have so much to see: The vibrance of the ceremony will awe-struck you as both sides want to go the extra mile in showing off how great their culture is! The colors, the beautiful people, the decorations, and the venue. It will be fun watching the bride and groom struggling in cross-cultural attires. The air will be hotter with this mixture going in all directions as a medley of all things culture.

You have so much to hear: Where the southies never had a taste of the Sangeet ceremony, it's time for jugalbandi of the band baaja and nadaswaram. The traditional songs, the Kacheris, the musical performances will awe-struck you. And now, whenever I go to a cross-cultural wedding, I know its roots emerge from that one helluva love story I wouldn't dare to miss knowing. Who knows their story might even become a best-selling novel.

You have so much to taste: A variety of cuisines with tastes you've never seen or heard or experienced before. The mirchi and the bland pappu might just take you a step closer to heaven if you get the irony of it? You will get to taste an entirely different species of food, and you might as well fall in love with them. Now you know what Chettinad chicken kabab and also Siyali poha feel like.

You have so much to smell: So now you'll know paneer is not only there to eat but it'll make you smell good. Confused? Paneer in Telugu means Gulabjal; it is a tradition to sprinkle it on the arriving guests. The mandap decked in flowers, incense, ittar, food will make you feel hungry and divine both at the same time.

You have so much to feel: Marriage, as they say, is the bond of seven lives. There is more emotion here than there can ever be. Be it the feeling that "my daughter is going miles away from me," "I'm not sure if this gora baccha enda daivame! will take care of my phool si bacchi," or the minor tiffs and rifts and occasional sparks of either attraction or clash will fill the air. The atmosphere will remind you of a mela. Mela equals celebration, right?

You have so much more to experience: It's just absolute bliss after all the Herculean trouble the couple takes to make both sides meet and to see the fruit of it all. To see their love surviving all odds restores lost faith. It is just that feeling that though we are divided by a million different reasons, we are the very same deep down inside our hearts. That's all that matters.