Marriage of Pitchai's Daughter, fisherman of Devaneri.

Not always keen on marriages as many Tamils know that these arranged marriage ceremonies seems
always rather like a chaotic show in big marriage-halls and often people go already to eat even
before the ceremony has finished.

OK it still gives a cosy festival mood where half of the village meet each other in their best
outfit, having a free meal and somewhere a copple get married at the same, almost a fancy-fair, the
more people invited, the more you will be respected as memeber of the community. Often the parents
have to take loans to pay off for years to afford a marriage.

It doesn't have to be like that cause I've seen also copples getting married in the local temple
where the environment radiates a more modest spiritual mood.

But I had to accept the invitation knowing Pitchai's family and his village so well, living there
in his family for more then a month as a guest some years back. It reminds me of the day she became
a marriable woman and suddenly I was not allowed to talk to her anymore in the house ! This was
also celelbrated then as you can see on this older photo.

In Tamil Nadu you still marry for life !
As a Tamil it is expected by the family that you have to marry along the traditions, no excuses ...