Two hearts one life...

-



Do you know when the act of marriage in a Christian wedding is completed?
You may say when the thali is tied, or when the exchange of rings is completed or you may even think that when the groom kisses the bride. Sadly you missed the bus. In the excitement to catch the side shows that are done to satisfy the requirements of society and the people around the actual wedding gets lost and even the camera man and the parents do not notice.

If you are puzzled and still wondering what I am talking about I suggest that next time pay attention when the priest who is officiating the wedding asks the bride and groom for consent, when they have said their consent with “I Do” or its variants the priest says “Since it is your …you may join your right hands…” and that ladies and gentlemen is the wedding rite. Whatever happens afterwards is part of the spectacle that we love to behold. 


I like to wear a wedding band on my hand because it ensures parity between the spouses where each has the name of the other on their person telling the general public that they belong to each other. This is missing with the thali, the fountain of many sentiments in our movies where the wife has a thali around her neck and usually the “metti” on her toes. I am not challenging the sentiments attached to either but I personally feel that they are one sided. The man usually roams free of any encumbrances.

Among other things this thali can also be a cause for potential personal injury apart from mental injuries arising from marriage. In some communities they vie with each other to see whose is thicker and since the thickness is usually contributed by the gold in the chain they tend to attract the eyes of those wanting to make a quick buck also. I have been a part of a meet the neighbour police interactions where the policemen politely suggest that women at least cover up their sign of marriage to ward of potential chain snatchers but to no avail.

The other aspect of this chain is when it gets misplaced and then all hell breaks loose. The sentiments that come along with it can be nerve wracking as the momentary loss of it will make people fear for the strength of the marriage itself. And if this comes to the notice of the elders in the family the plight of the wife can become very pitiable. Such is the emotion that is attached to this chain which is the side act.

Remember marriage is the joining of the two hands and the marriage will last as long as the two hands are together with or without a chain or a ring.

P.S. This is for a Christian wedding, it may or may not be the same for other weddings but the principle remains…




Images courtesy Google Images
Wedding Song Video courtesy Youtube

Comments

  1. S. Susan Deborah12:13 pm

    If only many take the "I do" part seriously, then the married life will be bliss irrespective of the small squabbles and differences in opinion. It's a beautiful bond -- precious and sacred.

    Joy always,
    Susan

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ganesh Puttu9:17 pm

    nowadays the thali mostly hangs on a peg on the wall...and not on the neck of the woman...so your parity is achieved at last clement

    ReplyDelete
  3. sushmitha8:24 am

    Well written ! I agree with you, holding the hands together forever matters the most :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Divia9:06 am

    ithunaala ellarurukkum therivikkarathu enna na... I didnt loose my thali!

    P.S. may have misplaced it sometimes :P

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Your take on this?

Popular posts from this blog

Bad donkey, small wall.

-
Image
This was a crude translation of a proverb that comedian Karunas (as pointed out by Chriz ) made famous in one movie. The Tamil original runs thus, “Kazhutha ketta, kutti suvaru” so you have the translation. I heard that line somewhere and I wondered especially having heard the translation as to what could have been the origin of the proverb. Any ideas? PS: I Googled it and did find something.
Read more

Memories of PTC bus journeys!

-
Image
MTC bus today! As I was turning into Haddows road today a MTC bus whizzed by nearly missing a few people on the road as is the norm. Just when I was about to curse the bus and its driver and everybody connected to it, my mind drifted back to the days gone by when I used to travel by these buses. The more my mind drifted, more instances that have been deeply etched in the confines of my memory came out like a mental slideshow. It is amazing how at the most unexpected moments lost thoughts surface and make even poor memory people like me feel good about us. Coming back to the post I thought I will put together a few memorable ones for the record. It was in the days of khaki shorts and white shirts, the old uniform of Dominic Savio Preparatory school (I’m told it has graduated to a matriculation now!) and its bigger sibling St. Bede’s Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School (100 years now, dear school of our hearts). School was a two stop bus ride from home if you got onto a white board bus
Read more

Appa tie, Amma gown

-
Image
This post was spurred by some grammar related conversations in the CBC I   went through college with the tag “Peter” or the longer “Appa tie, amma gown” . If you have not got it yet, my English was flawless and for those who could not follow what I said they thought that this was payback. It was not a fluke, my parents did not have a convent education but they ensure that my brother & I got one. It was an Anglo Indian school where speaking any other language but English meant you ran rounds around the decent sized play ground. My neighbours were Anglo Indians too, a wonderful couple who also taught for a living in my school, did i forget to mention they had two daughters who were similar in age to my brother and me ensuring that we played & grew up together for a few years. As it was English near home and in school my fluency increased. But even this upbringing may not have been enough were it not for one unforgettable instance when I noticed that the washed
Read more