Music is probably the best form of emotional expression. No wonder then it plays a vital role in a marriage. In a culturally hybrid society like ours, music aptly takes on the onus of expressing the joys and sorrows of the occasion and lives up to the responsibility.
Every nook and culture of India marries daughters and sons to some strains of accompanied music. This music is traditionally bequeathed and rings off a particular instrument. For example, most of the music played in South India is played on the nadswaram. The shehnai is another instrument favoured by many communities like the Gujaratis, Maharashtrians, and even the Bengalis. While the dholki or dholak are popular choices among the cultures of Punjab and Rajasthan.
Music in weddings celebrates not only the joy of the union but also the sanctity of it. Hence, there is a mix of traditional, classical, folk and spiritual songs that go with weddings. For the Punjabi and Christian weddings music adds a completely different dimension to the festivities. The Sangeet ceremony of the Punjabis is a fun function where lots of ribbing and teasing happens between both sides. The dholki (an elongated tabla) is a favorite instrument and the beat of the tabla sees many a relative matching time with it, with great gusto. The sangeet ceremony includes songs ranging from the verses from the love ballads of Waris Shah, to the travails of the bahu in her sasural, to slightly bawdy lyrics with naughty puns and innuendoes. Special dholwalis are invited for the occasion to add that special touch. These days though, it is the live bands and disc jockeys who have taken up the mantle.
Accompaniment of music is an important trademark displaying the relationship between music and Indian weddings. Traditional songs and dances abound in Islamic weddings too especially during the mehendi function. In the pithi dastoor ceremony among the Rajputs, the dholans, (women singers with dholak) sing auspicious pre-wedding songs while the ceremony is in progress and then continue to be present throughout the wedding. This trend is seen among Tamilians too. The ritual of pallikai thellichal (where married women from both sides sprinkle water on pots filled with nine varieties of grain) is accompanied with traditional songs and music.
Celebration or worship, both tug at the emotional threads of man. Music acts as that balm or vehicle one may say which is the right channel on an occasion as sublime yet as festive as only a wedding can be