For parents of a daughter, left heartbroken and anguished once she leaves their house after marriage, this could come as some solace. Until now, men have held the monopoly of taking away the bride. But a hugely popular sect in Haryana is attempting to break this long standing tradition.
The sect has successfully motivated eligible youth to break with tradition and willingly stay with the bride’s parents after marriage.
At least two such marriages were solemnised under the patronage of Haryana-based Dera Sacha Sauda on Saturday. After the wedding, the grooms went to his bride’s house where the couple will stay.
It is not that all youths are being sermonised by the sect to adopt this change, nor is the idea to altogether alter the conventional practice of men ceremoniously taking away brides to their home.
However, the unconventional rule is meant only for parents with a single daughter.
The parents with two sons are being motivated to willingly shift their son to the girl’s house instead of bringing the bride to their house.
Renowned eye surgeon and sect spokesperson Dr Pawan Insan said more youth had volunteered to embrace the new norm conceived and propagated by the sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.
“The ageing parents with a single daughter will get the support of her husband as well,” he said.
Conventionally, it’s the bride that is expected to first put the varmala.
At the two marriages, the change was conspicuous. The brides first got the varmalas from their grooms.
Dr Pawan said one of apprehensions of parents with a single daughter is about their care during their old age after the daughter is married and goes away to stay with her in-laws.
The sect chief perceived this as one of the reasons for people craving for sons believing they will take good care of them when they are old, which may or may not be the case.
“With this change, both the families can stay happily without worry,” he said.
Some devotees of the sect head discussed the proposal with the family of some boys and girls eligible under the arrangement, which eventually yielded results.
The sect, which has huge followings in northern states of Punjab, Haryana, HP and Rajasthan said they have started registering youth eager to happily adopt this unconventional change to weddings.