Kashmir polls dampen marriage plans

Elaborate preparations are involved for Kashmiri weddings

By Nayeema Ahmed BBC Urdu reporter in Srinagar

September is usually the time for the wedding bells to toll in the beautiful Kashmir Valley.

But not this year.

All the cooking utensils were searched, and meatballs were mistaken for bombs

Bride's father Ali Mohammed

Elections to the legislative assembly in this troubled territory have cast a shadow of violence and uncertainty across the valley, forcing wedding plans to be shelved or put off.

Once elections to the state assembly were called, all weddings planned for this autumn were put on hold until final dates for the polls were decided by India's Election Commission.

Parents wanted to plan around the elections for fear of violence.

Ever since the insurgency erupted in the state in the early 1990s, militants have stepped up violence to disrupt the poll process.

The poll process and the subsequent taks of forming a government in the state is unlikely to be completed before the middle of October.

And then it will be time for that mammoth annual Kashmiri ritual - shifting government offices from Srinagar, the summer capital, to Jammu, the winter capital of the state.

And when that happens, the power situation worsens. Blackouts in the Kashmir Valley just seem never to end, locals say.

Not a good time for celebrations.

Lavish festivities

Weddings in Kashmir are extravagant affairs, and guest lists run into their hundreds.

The conflict has disrupted many aspects of normal life

The traditional Kashmiri wedding hospitality, known as Wazwan, involves serving dozens of carefully-prepared dishes to guests at wedding receptions.

It is prohibitively expensive to prepare, and leaves the bride's parents financially drained.

Due to the uncertainty created by the decad-old insurgency in the territory, plans can go haywire without notice.

Food prepared for a thousand guests may go to waste if a crackdown by the security forces begins.

"Once the security forces launched an operation just as the guests were sitting down to lunch," according to Ali Mohammed, the father of one Kashmiri bride.

"All the cooking utensils were searched, and meatballs were mistaken for bombs."

"I had to eat one to convince the suspicious soldiers they were not packed with explosives."

Caught up in violence

Even during more peaceful times, at least a dozen brides and grooms in the valley have been killed in separatist violence.

Wedding celebrations have to be carefully timed

A bride and groom were caught in an exchange of fire between the security forces and militants at Nowshera in Srinagar as they returned home after the wedding ceremony.

Now they lie buried at arms length.

Local journalists say that two years ago, a wedding party on its way back from a celebration was caught up for 12 hours in an operation by the security forces.

Muted celebrations

But this not to say the wedding bells have gone completely silent. Some are chiming, but the sound is muted.

People in the valley are deeply spritualistic, and a visit to a Sufi shrine to gain blessings is an absolute must.

Dargah Hazrat Bal in Srinagar, the most famous of them all, is a favoured destination.

So is Shalimar Bagh, that most beautiful of gardens overlooking the the Dal lake.

It was hugely popular with the newly-weds for its enchantingly beautiful cedar trees, and the privacy it afforded.

But that has changed for fear of violence.

Wedding receptions, traditionally held at night, are now held during the day.

It is best to be home before dusk, locals say, or you might get caught in a militant attack, or be stopped for questioning by the security forces.

Music and dancing too has gone out of Kashmiri weddings.

"After so much bloodshed in the valley, it just doesn't seem right for us to sing and dance," says Hafiz from Sadrabal.