10 Indian Marriage Customs That Need To Be Banned

3. Feet Washing

This is a very common tradition across different cultures in India. While some have the tradition where the bride’s parents wash the groom’s feet, others make the bride herself wash his feet. While in earlier days, the tradition made some sense as grooms generally walked barefoot from one village to another for the wedding, in modern days with cars replacing feet and even horses, this tradition is outdated. In Assamese tradition, it is the bride’s sister who washes the groom’s feet. It only seems insulting to get two adults, as old as the groom’s own parents and deserving the same amount of respect, to wash the feet of the groom. Neither is the groom forced to walk barefoot anymore nor does he have to travel long distances. Offering water or refreshing beverages makes sense but making the parents wash his feet is just plain humiliating.

Also, while returning, the bride makes an equally arduous journey back home. Why don’t her feet deserve the same treatment?

4. Haldi for the bride

The tradition of haldi is a beautiful one where a paste of turmeric and other spices is applied on the bodies of the bride and the groom by relatives and friends to cleanse their skin and help them grow. The entire tradition is fun and a time of great bonding for the bride with her family. It also cherishes some of her last moments with her family as an unmarried woman. However, in certain regions, the bridal haldi ceremony can get weird. In Bengali tradition for the pre-wedding haldi, the turmeric paste carried by the groom’s family for the bride is the same paste used by the groom or a paste that has touched the groom’s body. Leaving the sexist aspect aside, we really wonder how hygienic this tradition is. While it is not practised in many urban areas or among literate people (the groom just touches the haldi with his hand before it is sent to the bride), the custom is followed in rural areas.

In some Bengali traditions, the bride is made to sit under the elbow of the groom and water is then passed from his elbow on to her. While this tradition is not exactly the haldi tradition and happens after the wedding, turmeric paste is often applied to both to ward off the evil eye.