New rules

Modern Indian couples are customising wedding rituals to reflect their personal beliefs and value systems. 

- PRAACHI RANIWALA

AT ANANT AMBANI and Radhika Merchant's grand pre-wedding celebrations in Jamnagar, the groom walked down the aisle for his hastakshar accompanied not by his parents, but by his sister Isha Ambani and sister-in-law Shloka Mehta. Another wedding that made news earlier this year, that of mental health advocate Ira Khan (daughter of superstar Aamir Khan) to fitness expert Nupur Shikhare, saw the multicultural couple opt out of traditional rites and exchange vows in a ceremony that seemed deeply personalised to them.

This isn't the realm of internet-breaking weddings alone. Many modern couples are no longer content with simply focusing on their wedding wardrobe and decor. Instead, they're delving deep into the symbolism of the ceremonial aspects they are expected to partake in retaining the ones that speak to their values and even borrowing from cultures around the world that strike a chord with them. In the process, they're saying 'I do' to only that which is truly meaningful.

DEBUNKING GENDER NORMS

When neuro-radiologist and nuclear medicine physician Bhavana Chowdary married multi-organ abdominal transplant surgeon Rithin Punjala in Sri Lanka, she wanted to celebrate her gender-proofed, progressive upbringing. So, the celebrations consisted of two ceremonies: a civil wedding honouring the bride's secular beliefs followed by a Hindu wedding in line with the groom's religious convictions. The ceremony performed by Tamilian priests from Jaffna saw the couple partake only in rituals that placed them as equals. Chowdary forwent symbolic markers of a married woman such as mehendi, kanyadaan, mangalsutra and sindoor. "I am not really a rule breaker, but I wanted the wedding day to reflect what I practise in my everyday life as a woman. I did not want it to be any different just for that one day simply because 'that's how it's done'," says the bride.

INTIMATE INTERLUDE