Just as the sun began to go down and the frantic hustle-bustle of public transport waned, women wearing Banarasi saris, and their children dancing to the rhythm of drumbeats, start pouring into a marriage hall. Inside the city’s red zone, near five star hotels and the Sindh Chief Minister’s House, the marriage hall is illuminated with lights and chairs set around a round table for the grand ceremony.
In one corner, on a raised platform under a mandap (canopy), a white-haired pandit (priest) wearing a shawl printed with Hindi verses gets ready for the holy ritual. Suddenly, someone shouted “Dulha aagaya” (the groom has arrived) and the guests sitting inside the hall rush towards the main entrance.
Attired in a maroon Sherwani and wearing a Sehra (floral headdress), the groom, surrounded by a large number of females, entered the marriage hall. A few minutes later, the dulhan (bride) – also wearing maroon sari and a sehra – arrives inside. The sari with golden borders and a matching bindiya with traditional jewellery including nath (nose ring), adds to the beauty of the bride. This is the scene of a traditional Marathi wedding in the city and the stage is all set for the couple to tie nuptials. A Marathi wedding may not be such a surprise in the city, as according to local Maharashtrians, around 250 Marathi families (around 2,500 members) are still living in Karachi. Marathi Hindus under the surnames of Gaikwar and Jadav among others are living in Sindh.
Despite their tiny numbers, Maharashtrians’ presence confirms the cosmopolitan nature of the city.
Sindh is the only place in Pakistan where one can find Marathi, Gujarati, Behari, Rajasthani and even people from Kerala and other Indian states.
As Sindh was part of the Bombay Presidency under the British Raj, a large number of people from different Indian states flocked to Sindh. After partition, many of them returned but a few of them stayed behind.
Inside the wedding mandap, the pandit starts reciting a mantra from the holy book.
Holding each others’ hands, the couple starts pheras (circling) of the holy fire set in the middle of the mandap.
The relatives shower the couple with cereal grains, wishing them a happy and prosperous life ahead.
Talking with Pakistan Today, some wedding participants said that a traditional Maharashtrian wedding entirely different from the one witnessed in Karachi.
“The actual Marathi nuptials are held during the day time and there are no pheras (circles around holy fire). The couple stands in two separate baskets with a white cloth as a curtain between them and then the pandit recites the basic rituals,” they said.
“Under the influence from Indian films and dramas on Star Plus channel, the local Marathi people are forgetting their culture,” an elderly participant at the wedding told Pakistan Today.
She said that usually the Marathi brides drape themselves in a green sari, which is considered a fortunate colour, but now they have started wearing different colours. “The Maharashtrians in Sindh have forgotten their traditional rituals like Shakar Puda (distribution of sugar on engagement), Kelvan (family feast) and Pithi (mixture of turmeric, sandalwood, scented oil and cream prepared for bride) among other rituals.”
Living far away from their own culture for several decades in this cosmopolitan city, many young Maharashtrians cannot even speak their mother tongue now, which is turning out to be a matter of great concern for their elderly, who think that their culture might be lost under the influence of films and dramas.
In cosmopolitan Karachi, tying the knot Marathi style
