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 It's not just about the Tam Bram girl marrying the Lucknowi Muslim boy!Marrying Across Cultures Who hasn't heard of multiculturalism? It's one of those inescapable edifices of modern life. Among my friends who have had multicultural weddings, I can count a couple of Indo-American matches, a Swede, a German, a few Italians and a Mexican. In a sense, even a marriage between people belonging to different communities in India is a cross-cultural experience. The Malayali- Bengali wedding, the Punjabi-Andhra nuptials, the Maharashtrian- Kannadiga marriage.. The Adjusting Game Multiculturalism might have been an integral part of our lives from an early age. How these theories work in reality becomes apparent when Ms. Nair marries Mr.Singh. What's a girl to do? The time and place to decide whether two individuals of differing cultural and religious beliefs can make a perfect union is during courtship. Once engaged, one of you needs to give a little and adjust a little bit more. Often, it is the person with the least strict beliefs. Religion Religion is a thorny issue. You're Hindu, she's Muslim. He's Parsi, you're Sikh. What religion are your children raised in? The question of religious conversions needs to be answered before nuptials. So make sure you discuss this issue in detail before you get married. The Wedding Guests As a guest attending a wedding not of your own culture, you must respect the differences. The bride and groom should consider a typed list of what can be expected as an explanation to guests not familiar with their customs. This is helpful, not insulting, because many people won't know how to correctly hold their hands during Muslim prayer or what to do with the rice they're holding in their hands at a Hindu wedding!
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