The Everyday Work of Marriage

Life after the wedding is where love is tested and strengthened, through forgiveness, conversation, and the art of coexistence.

- Dr. Fiaz Maqbool Fazili

Kashmiri weddings are spectacles. The air fills with the scent of fresh flowers, the clatter of utensils, and the hum of relatives exchanging advice and criticism.

Months are spent selecting attire, arranging feasts, photographing every angle, and rehearsing rituals that are decades old.

Families stretch themselves, children go into overdrive, and for a moment, the world pauses.

When the bride crosses the threshold of her new home, and when the groom walks back after the reception, there is relief, as if the story has ended.

Reality says otherwise.

Marriage is a comma, not a full stop. The responsibility begins after the music fades, guests leave, and the excitement settles.

It begins when two individuals confront the truth of sharing a home, a bed, and a life shaped by different experiences, habits, and expectations.

Two people from different families, often with contrasting routines and values, suddenly live under one roof.