Rock n roll Soniye
The significance of music in a marriage
Music is probably the best form of emotional expression. No wonder then it plays a vital role in a marriage. In a culturally hybrid society like ours, music aptly takes on the onus of expressing the joys and sorrows of the occasion and lives up to the responsibility.
Every nook and culture of India marries daughters and sons to some strains of accompanied music. This music is traditionally bequeathed and rings off a particular instrument. For example, most of the music played in South India is played on the nadswaram. The shehnai is another instrument favoured by many communities like the Gujaratis, Maharashtrians, and even the Bengalis. While the dholki or dholak are popular choices among the cultures of Punjab and Rajasthan.
Music for the occasion
As religion is such an integral part of a marriage it is but natural that the accompanying music hold more than just strains of religious sentiment. In Sikh weddings, the wedding ceremony or the anand karaj begins with kirtans (the singing of hymns by ragis - musicians). Christian weddings too are accompanied with hymn-singing that makes the occasion all the more spiritual. The Syrian Christians sing songs in eight different notes and their rites are deeply musical and lyrical. Talking of singing hymns, the Bohri community, within Islam, is another community that holds special functions during a wedding (majlis for women and darees for men) to come together for singing hymns.
Looking south
Music is considered to be divine in the South Indian states. Every state believes in playing music during auspicious occasions such as thread ceremonies, festivals and especially weddings. During marriages Carnatic music is mostly played during the entire ceremony with special emphasis on the nadeswaram. One important cultural factor is that classical tunes, those songs pertaining to various secular rituals, are also played at appropriate times.
East is east
Like in South India, Bengalis have their typical music too. The Rabindra Sangeet (based on the songs of famous poet / lyricist Rabindranath Tagore) is an inclusion of almost a religious nature. The shehnai finds predominance in Bengali weddings as does the oolu-oolu and the blowing of the conch. The Oolu-oolu is the onomatopoeic term referring to a sound made by Bengali women simultaneously moving their tongues and beating their mouths with an open palm. The oolu-oolu, performed by women of both families, is meant to draw widespread attention to the wedding ceremony. To complement the oolu-oolu, a conch is blown. Assamese have a similar version of the oolu-oolu, which they call the uluni. This is performed by rolling the tongue inside the mouth. The wedding song is called the biya naam and is moving in its rendition, which is similar to the heart-wrenching strains of the shehnai.
This tradition of announcing the occasion to all and sundry is a feature among the Parsis too. The Parsis believe marriage is not a function to be celebrated quietly. Therefore, not only is the wedding ceremony performed in front of a large assembly, but also it is accompanied by drums and fifes (i.e. the musical band). This is a musical exclamation announcing the marriage to the people of the town or village.
Music in weddings celebrates not only the joy of the union but also the sanctity of it. Hence, there is a mix of traditional, classical, folk and spiritual songs that go with weddings. For the Punjabi and Christian weddings music adds a completely different dimension to the festivities. The Sangeet ceremony of the Punjabis is a fun function where lots of ribbing and teasing happens between both sides. The dholki (an elongated tabla) is a favorite instrument and the beat of the tabla sees many a relative matching time with it, with great gusto. The sangeet ceremony includes songs ranging from the verses from the love ballads of Waris Shah, to the travails of the bahu in her sasural, to slightly bawdy lyrics with naughty puns and innuendoes. Special dholwalis are invited for the occasion to add that special touch. These days though, it is the live bands and disc jockeys who have taken up the mantle.
Christian weddings have the same revelry in their customary 'first dance' of the couple at the reception, which is performed with almost a ritualistic fervour. A legacy of the imperial times, this is generally a waltz, which is performed by the bride and groom and later parents, and relatives.
Accompaniment of music is an important trademark displaying the relationship between music and Indian weddings. Traditional songs and dances abound in Islamic weddings too especially during the mehendi function. In the pithi dastoor ceremony among the Rajputs, the dholans, (women singers with dholak) sing auspicious pre-wedding songs while the ceremony is in progress and then continue to be present throughout the wedding. This trend is seen among Tamilians too. The ritual of pallikai thellichal (where married women from both sides sprinkle water on pots filled with nine varieties of grain) is accompanied with traditional songs and music.
Celebration or worship, both tug at the emotional threads of man. Music acts as that balm or vehicle one may say which is the right channel on an occasion as sublime yet as festive as only a wedding can be.
