Business

Down the Isle, East to West

There is a saying that marriages are made in heaven, many collectivist cultures believe it while most individualist cultures denounce it. Two of the most prominent examples of such contrasting cultures are India and the United States of America, respectively. Marriages in both the American and the Indian cultures are contrastingly different when we look at the parents involvement in marriages, the customs followed during marriage and the life after marriage. Marriage is certainly one of the most important event in an individual’s life. Marriages not only affect the individuals getting married, it also affects his/her family and friends.

Parents play different roles in Indian and American weddings. Indian marriages are usually arranged marriages, so parents, and the elderly play an important role in formulating an Indian marriage. Parents, with a motive to create and maintain social ties, choose brides and grooms for their children. Mostly the children do not have any other options and have to blindly accept their parent’s choices. Most of the couples see each other for the first time, on the day of the marriage. In the Indian culture, the scope of love marriages is minimal and most of the lovers end up taking their lives because their parents do not agree with their choices. On the contrary, in a country based on an individualist culture, America, every person or child has the freedom to make their own decisions, without social pressures. Parents usually allow their kids to do whatever they want to do, and in fact encourage them to date other people. For example, one of my friends, in pursuit of finding the perfect groom has gone out with ten people within a month and her parents had no problems with it. With the dating process, two completely different people get to know each other, have the time and the opportunity to understand each other, fall in love and then decide whether to marry each other or not. Also, in America, the...