KATHMANDU, Dec 20: Mangsir is over and so is the hype of marriage. Marriage is defined as legally or formally recognized union of two people as partners in a personal relationship. But in every society the definition is different. It is a social affair to celebrate two people coming together and raising a family. Marriage is not only a social knot-tying ceremony but is an institution in itself and different aspects of marriage are its different subjects.

Finding a bride or a groom suitable for the family, arrange marriage and making parents agree for love marriage is another chapter.  But the real work starts after deciding the bride and the groom.

The biggest issue is the ‘budget’. In today’s world, budget is the biggest and the most important part of a marriage; probably more cardinal than the bride and the groom. The never ending shopping and buying expensive clothes that the bride or the groom will wear just once in their entire life is just the starter. The main spending is on the feast and jewels. The amount of gold to purchase, the budget for catering and the facilities to be provided for guests: such cost overburdens a normal family. The most interesting part is that they are happy to take that burden. To add to the overburdened cost comes comparison. ‘In the neighbors’ marriage, they spent x lakhs so we will spend x+y lakhs is a prominent concept’. This leads to taking debts. In some cases when the relationship turns sour after some time, people are reluctant to divorce even after being tortured just to make sure that the amount spent during marriage does not go in vain.

Not only is there the problem of expenditure, but also the invited guests too feel the burden. The burden of what to wear on the wedding and reception. Many spend their salaries on buying clothes and gifts, just to look receptive and hand over a worthy gift. This over expenditure, rather than being discouraged, is hailed as a celebration. In some cases, people have to spend years to pay the debt they take for marriage. It is not only an issue here. But, there are institutions that give loans for marriage in different countries.

Lastly, if marriage is tying a knot between two matured human beings then the maturity should be started with keeping low key in marriage and making marriage successful. Marriage is necessary and is a huge decision taken by two families rather than focusing on celebration and quality check people should understand about the marriage couple’s future and move forward.