Community Marriages: A Ray Of Hope For Cash Crunched Middle Class Families

Agra: More than 100 couples tied the nuptial knot at community marriages organized by half a dozen caste panchayats and organizations in the city.

In the past couple of months, there have been several expensive marriages, budget crossing a crore, in Agra. The latest was the marriage of the son of a chief editor of a leading newpaper group, which acquired a page three status, with the whole town talking about it. Another marriage in a leading industrial family of Agra was also the toast of the town as the dulhan wallahs arranged for a fleet of Mercedes and three planes to haul the baratis from Jaipur.

What these class marriages have done is to create frustration and disappointment in middle class and poor families who find the economic burden of marriages unbearable. But caste panchayats and social organizations have perhaps responded creatively to this gloomy scenario by periodically holding mass marriages which have hit the popularity chart after some initial reluctance.

Recently, the city of the Taj witnessed half a dozen such mass marriages which were not only well attended but even the participation of the community was intense and authentic. The newly wed couples were provided with generous gifts, all the household goods required to start a nuclear family, from utensils, to furniture. Political leaders of all hues were present in all the jamborees.

At the Ram Lila ground, the Prajapati Samaj Sewa Samiti enabled 28 couples to enter wedlock, amidst chanting of vedic mantras and exchange of garlands. State Minister Choudhary Babu Lal was the chief guest.

Another similar function was organised by the Lavkush Samuhik Vivah Samaroh Samiti at Gyan Singh Vidhyalaya in Naripura, for 23 couples of Kushwaha, Shakya, Maurya and Saini samaj.

In Idgah colony's municipal school, 21 couples belonging to the Kori samaj were married in a community marriage, while in Jogi Para the Akhil Bhartiya Yogi Samaj organised another big mass wedding programme, with hundreds of caste members joining the barat of more than a dozen dulhas.

Jagan Prasad Garg, BJP legislator, said the latest trend of mass marriages had come as a welcome relief and provided a way out for people with limited resources.

The Agarwals, Guptas, Khandelwals and even Brahmins have been regularly organizing mass marriages for their memebers and providing collecive assistance for purchase of gifts. "Initially only those with disabilities, and over-aged couples, used to get married at these functions, but lately there has been a change in trend as even highly educated and professionals," says Bankey Lal Maheshwari of the Sri Nathji Nishulk Jan Sewa.

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