'No Lehengas for Bride, Pheras Before Noon': Here's Why This Punjab Village Panchayat Issued Orders for Sikh Marriages

From no lehengas allowed for the bride to capping the number of people attending the marriage, a Punjab village panchayat has issued an order containing a set of restrictions on wedding ceremonies.

The panchayat of the Bhadas village in Punjab’s Kapurthala district has also levied a hefty fine for anyone who violates these set to instructions.

According to the panchayat, the people of the village have started taking the ceremony for granted, and hence a set of rules had to be introduced, The Indian Express reported.

The panchayat has asked the marriage parties to conduct the Anand Kiraj or the lavaan pheras before noon. In case the rituals get delayed, a fine of Rs 11,000 will be imposed on the parties involved, according to IE.

Majority of the people do not reach to the gurudwara even by afternoon, the panchayat highlighted.

In another instruction, the panchayat says that the bride is not allowed to wear a lehenga during the Lavaan-phera in the Gurudwara, IE reported.

Apart from this, there is also restriction on the number of people from the groom’s side participating in the post-wedding ritual of accompanying the bride to her parents’ home.

It also added that only the close relatives in the groom’s family can accompany the bride to her house for the post-marriage ritual. In this too, if the number of people increase, another fine of Rs 11,000 will be levied.

This has been introduced because on several occasions the girl come’s to her parents house for the first time after the wedding, accompanied by a large number of people. This according to the panchayat becomes a big burden for the bride’s family, the Indian Express said.

Other restrictions say that in order to allow eunuch or bhands to perform at the newly-wed couple’s house, proper permission needs to be taken.

Moreover, the village has fixed rates for these- Rs 11,000 for eunuchs and Rs 1,100 for ‘bhand’ and ‘bazigar’.

The village’s sarpanch, Kulwinder Kaur said that these restrictions are not an order but a request to the people so that they are not burdened by unnecessary social traditions, IE quoted saying.

Kaur also highlighted that the decisions were taken with the consent of villages, the Gurudwara management and other office-bearers.

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