Mass Weddings in India

This couple is one of 55 poor couples who agreed to be married in a mass marriage at the Cathedral. It was an interdenominational ceremony as their were many different faiths involved. The Cathedral just happens to be large enough to hold everyone.

Only the very poor are eligible for this government sponsored program. When couples are married, both families host multiple celebrations so each side gets to know the other family. The entire village is invited because it takes a whole village to care for a marriage. Everyone gets involved as the new couple becomes part of the community. It's every one's responsibility that they are successful.

But the poor people often borrow to accomplish this and they can not repay the debt. This causes more poverty and results in all kinds of problems. So the government offers this special program. If the couple agrees to a mass marriage, the government will give them the clothes in the picture, some money to get started, and a number of gifts. Each family can only invite xx number of members to attend in exchange.

They all gather in the morning. Whole families come riding in wagons pulled by tractors decorated for the occasion. Brides went to the girls' boarding school and got ready with their mothers and sisters. it was a madhouse. Mothers were holding their daughters and crying, there was much scurrying around, brides were everywhere. The grooms got ready at the Cathedral. Father's were yelling at their sons to shake a leg, ties were tied,shirts tucked in, grooms were everywhere. Then there was a long procession of couples and their families to the cathedral led by a typical Indian band of clarinets and drums. it's quite a parade. It looked like a performance of Admiral King's marching band back in the old days- everyone out of step, out of tune and out of line.

Then the couples all gathered in the front pews while the families looked on from the back and in the windows. There is a short ceremony and the groom puts a heart necklace on the bride. They exchange flower garlands and they are showered from above with marigold petals and everyone throws rice...inside the church! It was a mess!

The government and the Church insist that girls must be at least 18 and boys must be 22 but they want to raise the ages. In the villages girls sometimes are as young as 12. If the parents want her out of the house, they lie about her age. There are no birth certificates so there is no proof. Ask a person in the village when someone was born and they may answer, "When the rains came or the year of the flood, or the year the Twin Towers fell in America."

Sitting there in the church during the ceremony, the couples looked about as excited as if they were watching paint dry. No one was smiling. They each went through the motions like they were reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

I couldn't attend the celebration because of the heat. I was starting to get dehydrated again so I had to head back to the Bishop's house to protect myself. The party lasted until 3:00 and then everyone went back to the villages and the couples started their new lives.