Sunday, September 26, 2010

An Anand Karaj

My cousin sister is a practising Sikh born into a Sikh family. She married a man who is also an apparently practising Sikh born into a Sikh family this June. Recently, they went to get their marriage registered in Punjab. The clerk asked them for a picture from the "Anand Karaj", and my sister replied, "Oh, I don't think we had that ceremony". The clerk was obviously taken aback and she asked again- " Did you walk around the Guru Granth Sahib four times?". It was then that the newly-wed couple registered that they did participate in an "Anand Karaj", and in fact it was the "Anand Karaj" that they had dressed up so gaudily for. It was why their profiles mentioning their hobbies were on that matrimony website. It was what they invited all those guests to. It was where the bride shed those tears. It is what the Sikh communion is, it was the occasion that was marked by those recitals of those laavans that they didnot strain themselves to listen to, but did 'walk' around the Guru Granth Sahib to.  It was the "in-between" those two evenings of partying. 
I attended that Anand Karaj that June, or did I really attend one?


I know that non-Sikhs are not encouraged to participate in an Anand Karaj. How do you distinguish between a non-Sikh and a "lets party after this" Sikh? So many such questions, isn't it?

3 comments:

amishra said...

Maybe it's not that bad to be like your cousin sister.

blinded blue teddy said...

ha.. interesting.
i felt the same way recently when my cousin brother got married to a firang.
it was at their wedding that somebody read out what every single mantra means in english.
had that wedding not had this, I till date would have no idea.
i realized understand only in when its in english !!

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