You should attend a wedding in Bihar if:
1) You want to see how rich Biharis really are: Biharis spend money like anything on their marriages. Most of the times it the obscene amount of money they get as dowry. So it will be mostly groom’s side, spending money. It’s easy to explain those kinds of expenditures... Mercilessly earned... Mercilessly spent. If you think, Bihar is poor; Bihari Weddings will make you think again.
2) You want to see the maximum amount of food a human can consume: One baraati can eat more than 10 normal people. People with such gigantic appetites are especially invited to the weddings. They are considered “Shaan ki Baat”. I am not talking about legends... I am an eyewitness of people eating more than 120 rasgullas in dinner. And it was not the only thing they had; they ate mutton, rice, curd, and other sweets along with those. Yeah, water was used only for washing hands post dinner, never for drinking. A warning : one dinner party can continue upto 4 hours..
3) You want to literally see power flowing through barrel of gun: The might of baarat party is judged on following factors... How many vehicles they came in, how many guns they brought and how many gun shots they fired, how many cars had red light on them, is there any person among baaraties is an MP/MLA or has at least contested any election, IAS/IPS among baarties carry extra points. Needless to say, invitations for attending the baarat are sent keeping these factors in mind.
4) You want to see item numbers in real life: You must have seen Shilpa Shetty dancing on “Main aayee hoon, UP Bihar lootne”, or erstwhile Mananyata (Now Mrs Sanjay Dutt) dancing at “Alhad mast Jawani” in Movie Gangaajal. If you think that these item dances happens only in movies, here comes your eye-opener. In Western Bihar, those dances and dancers are integral part of any marriage. Marriages can’t be complete without those raunchy dance numbers. It is our own original version of hyped bachelor parties. Apart from those professional performers, you get to see dozens of amateur dancers around the lady performing. I am sure you have not seen those dance forms unless you come to Bihar. To name a few dance forms they are called “ Lungi Naach”,” Gamchha Dance”, “Naagin- Sapera Dance”.. In fact every amateur dancer you see displays a different dance form.
5) You want to see alternate use of roads: 95% of marriages in Bihar happen on the road. Well literally... all Pandals are made on the road. Traffic is either diverted or stopped for wedding to happen. More powerful the family more space they occupy on the road for longer duration.
6) You want to see wedding cards which carry more information than Resumes: In Bihar, Wedding invitations serve the purpose of not only inviting you to the wedding, they are also form of showing what they really are. Well, most of the cards will start with a really cheap poem. Here is an example :
फूल महकेंगे कलियाँ मुस्कुरायेगी, जब हमारी बिटिया दुल्हन बन जायेगी
आप के आने से, हमारी शान और बढ़ जायेगी
Next page will contain Groom’s name followed by names of all the degrees he has achieved, government posts he has worked for, and companies he has worked for. E.g. groom’s name will typically read like this : yeah, you can find detailed description of his father’s lifelong achievements also.
Here is an example:
आयुष्मान शांतनु कुमार सिंह ( बंटी बाबू )
( सोफ्टवेयर इंजिनियर , ऍम बी ऐ , ऍम सी ऐ , दिल्ली में कार्यरत )
प्रथम सुपुत्र : श्री भारतेंदु कुमार सिंह ( बड़े बाबू )
( अवकाश प्राप्त वरिष्ठ अधिकारी , भारत सरकार )
Most of the weddings cards will also carry a special request from some kid of the family.
Most likely it will read like this :
मेरे चाचा / मामा की छादी में जलूल से जलूल आना .. गोलू और पूजा
Obviously, if the wedding card will carry so much information , there will hardly be any place for maps or guidelines telling you how to reach marriage venue. Don’t worry.. You can easily recognize the wedding venue.. If a marriage is happening within 10 kms radius, you can hear the sounds of half dozen generators that bark tirelessly so that there can be electricity. Also, needless to say, there will be electricity only in the house you are invited, thanks to the generators.
1) You want to see how rich Biharis really are: Biharis spend money like anything on their marriages. Most of the times it the obscene amount of money they get as dowry. So it will be mostly groom’s side, spending money. It’s easy to explain those kinds of expenditures... Mercilessly earned... Mercilessly spent. If you think, Bihar is poor; Bihari Weddings will make you think again.
2) You want to see the maximum amount of food a human can consume: One baraati can eat more than 10 normal people. People with such gigantic appetites are especially invited to the weddings. They are considered “Shaan ki Baat”. I am not talking about legends... I am an eyewitness of people eating more than 120 rasgullas in dinner. And it was not the only thing they had; they ate mutton, rice, curd, and other sweets along with those. Yeah, water was used only for washing hands post dinner, never for drinking. A warning : one dinner party can continue upto 4 hours..
3) You want to literally see power flowing through barrel of gun: The might of baarat party is judged on following factors... How many vehicles they came in, how many guns they brought and how many gun shots they fired, how many cars had red light on them, is there any person among baaraties is an MP/MLA or has at least contested any election, IAS/IPS among baarties carry extra points. Needless to say, invitations for attending the baarat are sent keeping these factors in mind.
4) You want to see item numbers in real life: You must have seen Shilpa Shetty dancing on “Main aayee hoon, UP Bihar lootne”, or erstwhile Mananyata (Now Mrs Sanjay Dutt) dancing at “Alhad mast Jawani” in Movie Gangaajal. If you think that these item dances happens only in movies, here comes your eye-opener. In Western Bihar, those dances and dancers are integral part of any marriage. Marriages can’t be complete without those raunchy dance numbers. It is our own original version of hyped bachelor parties. Apart from those professional performers, you get to see dozens of amateur dancers around the lady performing. I am sure you have not seen those dance forms unless you come to Bihar. To name a few dance forms they are called “ Lungi Naach”,” Gamchha Dance”, “Naagin- Sapera Dance”.. In fact every amateur dancer you see displays a different dance form.
5) You want to see alternate use of roads: 95% of marriages in Bihar happen on the road. Well literally... all Pandals are made on the road. Traffic is either diverted or stopped for wedding to happen. More powerful the family more space they occupy on the road for longer duration.
6) You want to see wedding cards which carry more information than Resumes: In Bihar, Wedding invitations serve the purpose of not only inviting you to the wedding, they are also form of showing what they really are. Well, most of the cards will start with a really cheap poem. Here is an example :
फूल महकेंगे कलियाँ मुस्कुरायेगी, जब हमारी बिटिया दुल्हन बन जायेगी
आप के आने से, हमारी शान और बढ़ जायेगी
Next page will contain Groom’s name followed by names of all the degrees he has achieved, government posts he has worked for, and companies he has worked for. E.g. groom’s name will typically read like this : yeah, you can find detailed description of his father’s lifelong achievements also.
Here is an example:
आयुष्मान शांतनु कुमार सिंह ( बंटी बाबू )
( सोफ्टवेयर इंजिनियर , ऍम बी ऐ , ऍम सी ऐ , दिल्ली में कार्यरत )
प्रथम सुपुत्र : श्री भारतेंदु कुमार सिंह ( बड़े बाबू )
( अवकाश प्राप्त वरिष्ठ अधिकारी , भारत सरकार )
Most of the weddings cards will also carry a special request from some kid of the family.
Most likely it will read like this :
मेरे चाचा / मामा की छादी में जलूल से जलूल आना .. गोलू और पूजा
Obviously, if the wedding card will carry so much information , there will hardly be any place for maps or guidelines telling you how to reach marriage venue. Don’t worry.. You can easily recognize the wedding venue.. If a marriage is happening within 10 kms radius, you can hear the sounds of half dozen generators that bark tirelessly so that there can be electricity. Also, needless to say, there will be electricity only in the house you are invited, thanks to the generators.
