Traditional Marriage Research Paper

ABSTRACT

Marriage and Family patterns are undergoing discernible change throughout the world; The

India of today is the land of changes. The last two decades has seen a tremendous drift in morals and values existing in the Indian society. The changing times and the process of globalization have greatly influenced the marriage trends and alternating family patterns in the Indian society.

Marriage and family trends are often a reflection of society itself. Today’s Indian society has a great influence from western world. Marriages and family trends in India have been continuously changing in India because of modernization and the process of globalization.

INTRODUCTION

India has been a country, where the status of family has been of utmost importance

Modernity has promoted women‘s empowerment through education, legal reforms, political power, economic and personal autonomy, and social mobilization for gender justice. Indian marriage systems are going through a major transition due to the impact of globalization on basic social values and institutions. The institution of marriage can be assessed by comparing and contrasting traditional and contemporary marriage patterns.

The traditional pattern was marked by prominence of arranged marriages, which were primarily oriented towards creating alliances between two families through ―classical matchmakers‖ such as family priests and relatives. In such a marriage, there was only a minor role for the bride and bridegroom in the context of decision-making regarding the marriage.

Contemporary marriage, however, is based more on an understanding between the about-tobe- married man and woman along with attention to the views of family elders. New ―mediators‖ such as the media (matrimonial columns) and marriage bureaus have also emerged, contributing to the rise of a nationwide, and sometimes transnational, system of information and choice making in the context of marriage. Similarly, there is a noticeable shift from an exclusive

These matrimonial advertisements may sound amusing to the west but they are pervasive not only in India but in the entire South Asian region.

In earlier times, people tended to live in joint families and it was easier to find the prospective bride or groom from amongst the relatives of the family members. For example the eldest daughter-in-law of the house could suggest her maternal aunt‘s daughter as a match for her younger brother-in-law. However, as traditional families started breaking up, and people started moving to cities for work, this form of arrangement started to break down. Therefore, there was a need for an alternative system of finding the ideal bride or groom. In addition, the print media such as newspapers and magazines came to the rescue. Today, the print media and the Internet provide the easiest and fastest method for finding a suitable partner. The role of ―marriage arranger‖ who used to be a priest or a relative has been taken over by the new media.

Marriage Bureaus are popping up like mushrooms. Depending on how much you are willing to pay, they do anything from giving the ―right advertisement‖ in the media, scrutinizing