Arranged marriages in India!

An arranged marriage has been an essential ingredient of the Indian society since time immemorial. They are generally arranged by parents, relatives, and match makers or a third party that can be trusted. In fact the match making a lot of times is done by priests, family friends, etc as well.

In earlier times, boys and girls of marriageable age were never asked for their approvals neither were they told anything about their prospective partner. But, with changing times, the society has undergone major changes. These days even in an arranged marriage the consent of both the boy and girl is taken. The progression begins with things like matching horoscopes of the pair to check their compatibility levels, the backgrounds of the family and their religion and caste.

After everything is ensured, an appropriate date, mutually decided by both parties is fixed for the marriage. pre-wedding ceremonies like an engagement takes place where rings are exchanged between the boy and girl and gifts are given to both the families. With progressive thinking, the couple is allowed to interact with each other and meet before marriage even in an arranged set up. This gives them time to open up to each other and also helps them create a level of basic understanding between them.

The ceremony of marriage is extremely formal in cases of arranged marriages, with the family of the bride playing the perfect hosts. The wedding is carried out in strict agreement with the Vedic rituals. When the wedding gets over, the bride bids farewell to her family with blessings for her newly married life. But like most things, an arranged marriage also has its own share of pros and cons. They usually have a better rate of success with fewer expectations and issues like ego. But they also have serious issues that can lead to a lot of troubles. Even if one person in the marriage is not happy it can cause bitterness and can emotionally wreck the two people involved. Besides, such circumstances can make an individual turn away from the idea of marriage itself.  Parents are mainly responsible for such conditions as they put a lot of pressure on their kids. Little do they realize that in the pretext of being over imposing they can mess up the life of their children eternally.